Wholesale prices rose less than expected in December but still set a new standard at a time when inflation overall is running at a nearly 40-year high, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The producer price index, which measures prices received by producers of goods, services and construction, was up 0.2% for the month, half of the 0.4% Dow Jones estimate.
However, on a 12-month basis, the index was up 9.7% to end 2021, the highest calendar-year increase ever in data going back to 2010.
The monthly gain was a sharp drop-off from the two previous months, which showed respective gains of 0.6% and 1%.
A separate report Thursday showed that initial jobless claims claims for the week ended Jan. 8 totaled 230,000, well above the 200,000 estimate and a considerable increase from the previous week’s 207,000.
However, the longer-term trajectory for unemployment was lower.
Continuing claims, which run a week behind the headline number, fell by 194,000 to 1.56 million, the lowest level since June 2, 1973.
With the jobless level continuing to fall — the unemployment rate for December slid to 3.9% — markets have been more focused on inflation. Thursday’s PPI reading came the day after the consumer price index, which measures prices paid at checkout for a swath of everyday goods and services, rose 7% year over year, the biggest 12-month gain since June 1982.
Excluding food, energy and trade, so-called core PPI increased 0.4% for the month, below the 0.5% estimate.
Final-demand prices for food and energy both fell during the month, declining 0.6% and 3.3% respectively. Trade prices rose 0.8% while transportation and warehousing costs were up 1.7%.
Goods prices actually declined 0.4% on the month but that was offset by a 0.5% rise in services. The pandemic era has featured much stronger demand for goods, helping contribute to the surge in consumer inflation.
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