#usjulyppiflat
📦 Wholesale Prices Just Stood Still — Here's What That Says About Inflation's Next Move
A day after CPI showed inflation cooling, its producer-side counterpart delivered a similar message — with a few details worth a second look.
The breakdown: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday that the Producer Price Index for final demand was unchanged in July, below the 0.2% increase economists had expected, following a 0.1% dip in June. On an annual basis, PPI slowed to 4.7% from 5.5% in June. Core PPI, which strips out food and energy, rose a modest 0.2% for the month against a 0.3% forecast, with the annual core rate easing to 4.2% — its lowest level in four months. The softness was driven mainly by falling energy and food prices, even as the cost of services still edged higher. This follows Wednesday's July CPI report, which showed a similar pattern: headline consumer prices rose just 0.1% for the month, with the annual rate slowing to 3.4% and core CPI easing to 2.5% year-over-year.
Why it matters: Two consecutive days of cooler-than-expected inflation data reinforce the disinflation narrative heading into the Fed's September meeting, giving policymakers more room to weigh their next move. There's a wrinkle worth noting, though: most PPI data is collected early in the month, meaning the late-July jump in oil prices tied to renewed Middle East tensions likely wasn't fully captured in this report — so some of today's relief could look different once next month's data catches up. A narrower measure that also strips out trade services showed a sharper pickup as well, pointing to some underlying service-sector cost pressure that hasn't fully faded even as the headline numbers cool.
Closing thought: With energy prices already climbing again since this data was collected, does today's flat reading mark real progress on inflation — or just a calm month before the next report catches up to it?
$EDEN
$TUT
$AKE
📦 Wholesale Prices Just Stood Still — Here's What That Says About Inflation's Next Move
A day after CPI showed inflation cooling, its producer-side counterpart delivered a similar message — with a few details worth a second look.
The breakdown: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday that the Producer Price Index for final demand was unchanged in July, below the 0.2% increase economists had expected, following a 0.1% dip in June. On an annual basis, PPI slowed to 4.7% from 5.5% in June. Core PPI, which strips out food and energy, rose a modest 0.2% for the month against a 0.3% forecast, with the annual core rate easing to 4.2% — its lowest level in four months. The softness was driven mainly by falling energy and food prices, even as the cost of services still edged higher. This follows Wednesday's July CPI report, which showed a similar pattern: headline consumer prices rose just 0.1% for the month, with the annual rate slowing to 3.4% and core CPI easing to 2.5% year-over-year.
Why it matters: Two consecutive days of cooler-than-expected inflation data reinforce the disinflation narrative heading into the Fed's September meeting, giving policymakers more room to weigh their next move. There's a wrinkle worth noting, though: most PPI data is collected early in the month, meaning the late-July jump in oil prices tied to renewed Middle East tensions likely wasn't fully captured in this report — so some of today's relief could look different once next month's data catches up. A narrower measure that also strips out trade services showed a sharper pickup as well, pointing to some underlying service-sector cost pressure that hasn't fully faded even as the headline numbers cool.
Closing thought: With energy prices already climbing again since this data was collected, does today's flat reading mark real progress on inflation — or just a calm month before the next report catches up to it?
$EDEN
$TUT
$AKE