US producer prices up 7.8% in July, much higher than estimates

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US producer prices soared 7.8% in July on an annual basis, much higher than the market estimate of 7.3%, according to the US Labor Department on Thursday.

The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures changes in the price of goods and services from a producer perspective, rose 7.3% in June, marking its largest 12-month increase since November 2010,

In July, the PPI rose 1% from the previous month, which was also above the market expectation of 0.6%, after rising 1% in June.

"Nearly three-fourths of the July increase in the final demand index can be traced to a 1.1% advance in prices for final demand services. The index for final demand goods rose 0.6%," the Labor Department said in a statement.

Core producer prices, which exclude food and energy, also rose 1% in July from the previous month, while they jumped 6.2% year-on-year. Market estimates were 0.5% and 5.6%, respectively.

While core PPI increased 1% in June on a monthly basis, it was up 5.6% annually.