US producer inflation falls 0.5% monthly in October

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) — US producer inflation fell by a monthly 0.5% in October, according to official figures released on Wednesday.

The market expectation for the producer price index (PPI), which measures changes in the price of goods and services from a producer perspective, was for a 0.1% monthly increase.

Also, the monthly increase for September's reading was revised down to 0.4% from 0.5%, according to the figures.

"Prices for final demand goods moved down 1.4 percent in October, the first decrease since falling 1.5 percent in May," the Labor Department said in a statement.

"A major factor in the October decline was the index for final demand energy, which dropped 6.5 percent. Prices for final demand foods fell 0.2 percent," it added.

On an annual basis, the PPI saw gains of 1.3% in October, also coming lower than market estimates of a 1.9% gain.

The annual increase in September was unrevised at 2.2%, which was the largest year-on-year rise since April this year.

Core producer prices, which exclude food, energy and trade, increased 0.1% in October after rising 0.3% in the month before.

Core PPI in October increased 2.9% on an annual basis, following an increase of 3% in September.