Official figures indicated that U.S. wholesale prices going on to heat up in January on the back of rising energy costs, but most other sectors saw little sign of inflationary pressure. There was also a larger than projected rise in new claims for unemployment benefits, as the sputtering labor market continues to lay behind the rest of the U.S. economy.
According to labour department figures, the producer price index rose by 1.4% last month. That was more than economists predicted, and marked the fourth month in a row that prices increased. Compared to a year ago, the wholesale price has risen by 4.6%.
Three-quarters of the monthly increase was 5.1% on an increase in energy costs, mainly driven by rising prices for gasoline. Key producer prices excluding the food and energy prices, a mild 0.3% in January.
Economic analysts estimate that the recent trends in the PPI numbers are unlikely that an immediate transfer of the Federal Reserve lead AOS interest rate policy. The Fed said it would still exceptionally low prices over a longer period, as it expected inflation to remain subdued in the near future.
The labor market remains a key concern. Initial unemployment claims rose from 31000 to 473000 last week. This was more than analysts predicted, though the less volatile four-week average eased. The numbers of workers in the US continues to claim unemployment benefits is unchanged at 4.56m.
The unemployment rate fell to 9.7% last month, but the government will remain under pressure, companies in order to add to their staff. Analysts expect that the creation of jobs until a week claims unemployment figures are closer to starting the 400000 level and have been waiting to see if the upturn in production leads to the creation of jobs.