April Producer Prices See Smallest Increase Since Start of 2021

Adding to signs that price pressures might be easing, wholesale annual inflation slowed in April to its smallest increase since January 2021, according to a May 11 Bureau of Labor Statistics report and analysis from media outlets.

For the 12 months ended in April, the Producer Price Index — a key indicator of wholesale price changes — dropped to 2.3%.

The increase was below the annual increase of 2.7% in March and economists’ expectations of 2.4%. Lower egg, grain, chicken, diesel, and liquified petroleum gas prices contributed to the decline, according to BLS data.

The PPI advanced 0.2% in April, seasonally adjusted, after final demand prices fell 0.4% in March and were unchanged in February.

Prices for final demand other than foods, energy and trade services rose 0.2% in April after inching up 0.1% in March. For the yearlong period ended in April, the index for final demand aside from foods, energy and trade services increased 3.4%.

The BLS data was released just one day after the bureau announced that the Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.1% in March.

Over the past 12 months, the all-items CPI increased 4.9% before seasonal adjustment, the slowest rate in two years.

Read more about the April PPI changes here.