| U.S. wholesale prices drop 0.5 percent in Ju |
| Date: 2010/7/16 Click: 1965 |
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U.S. wholesale prices declined by 0.5 percent in June, the third month in a row, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The decline in the department's Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of inflation at the wholesale level, followed a 0.3 percent drop in May.
Excluding the volatile food and energy sectors, core wholesale prices rose by 0.1 percent in May, matching the economists' expectation.
Over the past 12 months that ended in May 2010, core wholesale prices have gone up 1.1 percent.
The lower prices reflect a continued decline in global oil prices which have been falling because of concerns that the European debt crisis will dampen growth prospects in a key region of the world.
In June, energy prices fell 0.5 percent. The cost of gasoline dropped 1.6 percent in June while home heating oil fell 8.1 percent, the biggest decline in 11 months.
Food costs fell 2.2 percent last month, the biggest decline since April 2002. |
