U.S. Producer Prices Unexpectedly Edge Down 0.1% In August

(RTTNews) - Largely reflecting a sharp pullback in prices for trade services, the Labor Department released a report on Wednesday unexpectedly showing a modest decrease by producer prices in the U.S. in the month of August.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand edged down by 0.1 percent in August after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.7 percent in July.

The dip surprised economists, who had expected producer prices to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.9 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 2.6 percent in August from a downwardly revised 3.1 percent in July.

Economists had expected the annual rate of producer price growth to remain unchanged compared to the 3.3 percent surge originally reported for the previous month.