US producer prices unchanged with wholesale inflation remaining under control

By PAUL WISEMAN Associated Press Economics Writer WASHINGTON AP U S wholesale inflation cooled last month despite worries that President Donald Trump s tariffs would push prices higher for goods before they reach consumers The Labor Department announced Wednesday that its producer price index which tracks inflation before it hits consumers was unchanged last month from May and up from a year earlier Both measures came in below what economists had expected Excluding volatile food and vitality prices so called core producer prices were also unchanged from May and up from June Related Articles The present day in History July Trinity nuclear weapon test ICE flexes authority to sharply expand detention without bond hearing Pentagon ends deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles What to know about Good Trouble Lives On rallies honoring John Lewis America s only rare earth producer gets a boost from Apple and Pentagon agreements The summary on wholesale inflation came a day after the Labor Department announced that consumer prices last month rose from June the biggest year-over-year gain since February as Trump s sweeping tariffs pushed up the cost of everything from groceries to appliances Wholesale prices can offer an early look at where consumer inflation might be headed Economists also watch it because various of its components notably measures of healthcare care and financial services flow into the Federal Reserve s preferred inflation gauge the personal consumption expenditures or PCE index Inflation began to flare up for the first time in decades in as the market system roared back with unexpected strength from COVID- lockdowns That prompted the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate times in and The higher borrowing costs helped bring inflation down from the peaks it reached in and last year the Fed felt secure enough with the progress to cut rates three times But it has turned cautious this year while it waits to see the inflationary impact of Trump s business policies Trump has aggressively stepped up pressure on the Fed to cut rates a move that threatens the central bank s independence