Producer Inflation Rises More Than Expected In September As Food, Transportation Costs Jump

BY Benzinga | ECONOMIC | 10/11/24 08:44 AM EDT

Price pressures on U.S. producers jumped unexpectedly in September, mirroring a similar trend observed in consumer inflation data reported a day earlier.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) rose more sharply than anticipated in September, and the August reading was upwardly revised. Core producer prices ? excluding energy and food ? also climbed more than forecasted.

Prior to the release of the PPI report, traders had assigned a nearly 85% chance of a 25-basis-point interest rate cut in November.

September Producer Price Index Report: Key Highlights

  • Headline PPI for final demand rose by 1.8% year-over-year in September, down from an upwardly revised 1.9% in August. This outcome was slightly above economist expectations of 1.6%, as tracked by TradingEconomics.
  • On a monthly basis, PPI flattened, decelerating from August’s reading and coming in below the forecasted 0.1% increase.
  • Food costs soared by 1% month-over-month, recording the largest increase since February.
  • A significant factor in the September rise in prices for final demand services was a 3% increase in the index for deposit services.
  • Other contributing indexes included machinery and vehicle wholesaling, furniture retailing, software publishing for desktop and portable devices, apparel wholesaling, and airline passenger services, all of which saw gains
  • Core PPI soared to 2.8% year-over-year in September, up from August’s 2.4% and slightly above market expectations of 2.7%.
  • On a month-over-month basis, core PPI rose 0.2%, down from August’s 0.2% pace and matching forecasts.
<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes">
PPI MetricsSeptember 2024August 2024Econ.
consensus
Headline PPI (YoY)1.8%1.9%
(upwardly revised from 1.7%)
1.6%
Headline PPI (MoM)0.0%0.2%0.1%
Core PPI (YoY)2.8%2.4%2.7%
Core PPI (MoM)0.2%0.3%0.2%
</figure>

Market Reactions

November interest rate cut expectations a marginal downward move after the release.

The U.S. dollar index (DXY), tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF , as Treasury yields inched higher.

Notably, 30-year yields were up by 5 basis points to 4.41%, the highest since late July. As such, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was 0.7% lower during the premarket trading in New York, eyeing a 10-week low.

Futures on the S&P 500 were unchanged, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 eased 0.2%. On Wednesday, , the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) closed 0.2% lower.

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Photo via Shutterstock.

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