US producer prices increase more than expected in January

US producer prices increased more than expected in January, likely as businesses passed on higher costs from import tariffs, suggesting inflation could pick up in the months ahead.

The Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.5 percent last month after advancing by a downwardly revised 0.4 percent in December, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI gaining 0.3 percent after a previously reported 0.5 percent increase in December.

Reuters