NEW YORK, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) — The U.S. Labor Department reported Wednesday the producer price index (PPI) fell 0.1 percent in August, following a downwardly revised 0.7-percent increase in July and below market expectations for a 0.3-percent rise.
On a 12-month basis, the headline PPI increased 2.6 percent, following a 3.3-percent year-on-year increase in July. The August data was lower than the market expectation for a 3.3-percent increase.
The report attributes August’s decrease in PPI to a 0.2-percent decline in prices for services, while the index for goods inched up 0.1 percent.
The core PPI, excluding volatile food and energy prices, dropped 0.1 percent month on month and grew 2.8 percent year on year in August. Excluding food, energy and trade services, the core PPI posted a 0.3-percent increase month on month and inched up 2.8 percent year on year.
After the release of the PPI figures, odds for a larger half-percentage-point rate reduction increased slightly to about 10 percent, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch gauge.
The Federal Open Market Committee will convene its September meeting with monetary policy decisions next week.
Futures market pricing implies a 100 percent probability that the committee will approve its first rate cut since December 2024, local media reported Wednesday.
