WASHINGTON—Wholesale prices in the United States rose modestly last month, the latest sign that inflationary pressures may be easing more than a year after the Federal Reserve unleashed an aggressive campaign of steadily higher interest rates.
From March to April, the government’s producer price index rose just 0.2 percent after falling 0.4 percent from February to March, held down by falling prices for food, transportation, and warehousing.
Compared with a year earlier, wholesale prices rose just 2.3 percent, the 10th straight slowdown and the lowest figure since January 2021. Lower energy prices helped slow the annual inflation rate.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core wholesale inflation rose 0.2 percent from March and 3.2 percent from 12 months earlier. The year-over-year increase in core wholesale inflation was the lowest since March 2021 and marked the seventh straight slowdown. The Fed pays particularly close attention to core prices, which tend to be a better gauge of the economy’s underlying inflation pressures….