January Producer Prices Log Fastest Rise in 4 Months Amid Services Boost

10:35 AM EST, 02/27/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US producer prices rose at the fastest pace in four months in January as growth in the services index hit the highest since July, government data showed Friday.

The producer price index increased 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis, accelerating from a 0.4% rise in December and representing the biggest gain since September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. A survey compiled by Bloomberg pointed to a gain of 0.3%.

Wholesale costs of services advanced 0.8% in January, driven by a 2.5% jump in trade margins, according to the BLS.

Prices for final demand goods ticked down 0.3% in January, marking a second consecutive month of decline, the data showed. Nearly 80% of the decline in the goods index is attributable to a 5.5% fall in gasoline prices, the BLS said.

Annually, wholesale cost growth decelerated to 2.9% in January from the previous month's 3%, compared with analysts' estimate that called for a 2.6% rise.

The Federal Reserve preferred inflation metric, measured by personal consumption expenditures and excluding food and energy, accelerated more than Wall Street's estimates to 3% year over year in December, delayed government data showed last week.

The Fed must avoid easing its monetary policy further as inflation remains a key concern among businesses and consumers, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said Tuesday. That followed Fed Governor Christopher Waller saying continued improvement in the labor market, along with further progress on inflation, would tilt his decision toward a monetary policy pause in March.

The Federal Open Market Committee left interest rates unchanged in January after delivering three back-to-back 25-basis-point cuts last year amid concerns about the labor market.

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