Producer prices stateside increased slightly more than expected in June amid gains in the cost of services and motor vehicles, leading to the biggest annual increase in this figure in 6-1/2 years.
Figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Labor Department said on Wednesday its producer price index for final demand climbed 0.3% last month also lifted by increases in gasoline prices. The PPI rose 0.5% in May. In the 12 months through June, the PPI advanced 3.4%, the largest gain since November 2011. Producer prices increased 3.1% year-on-year in May.
Economists had forecast the PPI gaining 0.2% in June and rising 3.2% year-on-year.
A key gauge of underlying producer price pressures that excludes food, energy and trade services rose 0.3%last month. The so-called core PPI edged up 0.1% in May.
In the 12 months through June, the core PPI rose 2.7% after increasing 2.6% in May.
Inflation in the United States is on the move against the backdrop of a labour market that is viewed as being near or at full employment.
The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy, hit the U.S. central bank's 2% target in May for the first time in six years.
