December Producer Prices Surprisingly Accelerate Amid Services Wholesale Cost Boost

11:55 AM EST, 01/30/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US producer price growth unexpectedly accelerated in December as the services index logged the largest

increase since July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

The producer price index rose by 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis last month, representing the biggest gain since September, government data showed. The latest result followed November's 0.2% growth, which was the projected rise for December in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Wholesale prices of services advanced 0.7% in December following a flat reading in November. Two-thirds of the services index increase is attributable to a 1.7% gain in trade margins, according to the BLS.

The PPI report, originally scheduled to be released on Jan. 14, was delayed due to the recent federal government shutdown.

Prices for final demand goods were unchanged last month following a 0.8% rise in November. Within goods, energy costs declined 1.4%, while food prices fell by 0.3%.

"The gap in price increases between tariff exposed and non-tariff exposed goods has narrowed considerably," Oxford Economics Associate Economist Grace Zwemmer said in a report emailed to MT Newswires. "With much of the tariff pass-through to prices behind us, we expect goods inflation to ease this year."

Annually, wholesale cost growth remained steady month over month at 3% in December. The consensus was for a 2.8% increase.

Official data released earlier in January showed that consumer inflation held steady year over year last month, while core prices grew less than projected.

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, citing signs of stabilization in the unemployment rate. It delivered three back-to-back 25-basis-point cuts last year amid concerns about the labor market.

"December's PPI data won't have much impact on the (Fed)," according to Zwemmer. "With interest rates close to neutral and labor market conditions stabilizing, we expect the Fed to remain on hold until June before cutting rates further."

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