Investing.com - Producer price inflation in the U.S. rose more than expected in April, while core prices also topped forecasts, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Commerce Department said that producer prices increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% last month, above forecasts for a 0.2% gain, after rising 0.5% in March.
Year-over-year, the producer price index rose at an annualized rate of 2.1% in April, above expectations for a 1.7% increase and up from 1.4% in the preceding month.
The core producer price index advanced 0.5% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.2% increase, after rising 0.6% in March.
Core produces prices rose at an annualized rate of 1.9% in April, beating forecasts for a 1.4% gain and after climbing 1.4% in the preceding month.
Core prices are viewed by the Federal Reserve as a better gauge of longer-term inflationary pressure because they exclude the volatile food and energy categories.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar held to losses against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.1% to trade at 1.3715.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was mildly lower. The Dow pointed to a drop of 0.15% at the open, the S&P 500 indicated a loss of 0.15%, while the Nasdaq 100 signaled a decline of 0.25%.