"Economics" US producer prices rose 0.5% in January, core prices rose 0.8%, both exceeding expectations

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday that the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by 0.5% in January, higher than the forecast of 0.3%, and 0.1 percentage points more than the previous month.

The core PPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy prices, increased by 0.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis, surpassing the 0.6% increase in December and far exceeding the expected 0.3%.

Service prices were the main driver of this increase, with a monthly rise of 0.8%, the highest level since July 2025. In contrast, commodity prices actually fell by 0.3%, although core commodity prices rose by 0.7%.

On a year-over-year basis, the core PPI increased by 3.6%, while the overall PPI rose by 2.9%, both significantly above the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target, indicating that rising prices remain a factor influencing the U.S. economy