Inflation For Businesses Remains Near Record Levels

Inflation for businesses remained near record levels as the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.8% in May and 10.8% over the last year, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.8 percent in May, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This rise followed advances of 0.4 percent in April and 1.6 percent in March,” the report says. “On an unadjusted basis, final demand prices moved up 10.8 percent for the 12 months ended in May.”

The annual increase was slightly below the record 11.5% reached in March, but the monthly rate was double the 0.4% pace in April.

The news comes shortly after a separate report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that inflation for consumers had reached 8.6% – the highest rate since 1981.

The 8.5% inflation rate was even worse than economists projected. As reported by CNBC, the “consumer price index, a wide-ranging measure of goods and services prices, increased even more than the 8.3% Dow Jones estimate. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core CPI was up 6%, slightly higher than the 5.9% estimate.”

“On a monthly basis, headline CPI was up 1% while core rose 0.6%, compared with respective estimates of 0.7% and 0.5%,” CNBC added.

“It’s hard to look at May’s inflation data and not be disappointed,” said Morning Consult’s chief economist, John Leer. “We’re just not yet seeing any signs that we’re in the clear.”