Wholesale prices rose 6.5% in the year ending in October, the largest annual increase since November 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, according to Reuters and the Washington Examiner.
The producer price index for final demand rose 0.3% for the month, Reuters reported, below the 0.4% gain that economists polled by Reuters had forecast. The annual rate climbed two-tenths of a percentage point from September, the Washington Examiner reported.
Inflation, as measured by the producer price index, rose two-tenths of a percentage point to 6.5% for the year ending in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. https://t.co/t9AgTpltS2
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) November 13, 2026
Reuters reported that the October gain followed an upwardly revised 1.4% surge in September, and that the annual rate had been 6.3% the month before. The 12-month figure was slightly below economists’ expectations of 6.6%, according to IBTimes. The last time the annual rate ran higher was November 2022, when it reached 7.4%, IBTimes reported.
Goods prices lead the way
Goods prices rose 0.5% in October, down from a 2.5% increase in September, IBTimes reported. Reuters said the goods gain was driven mostly by food and basic organic chemicals. Food prices climbed 1.3%, while energy prices edged down 0.1%, according to IBTimes.
More than 60% of the increase in goods prices came from products excluding food and energy, IBTimes reported. Prices for basic organic chemicals rose 3.9%, while fresh and dry vegetables, jet fuel and processed young chickens also became more expensive, according to IBTimes. Diesel fuel prices fell 7.9% during the month, IBTimes reported, citing the BLS.
Services prices rose 0.2%, advancing for a fifth straight month, according to Reuters. Transportation and warehousing costs climbed 2%, with truck freight prices up 3.9%, IBTimes reported.
The PPI is considered an early indicator of inflation because higher production costs are often passed on to consumers, IBTimes reported.
Pressure on the Fed
The report followed news earlier in the week of a stronger-than-expected increase in consumer prices in October, according to Reuters. Reuters also reported that nonfarm payrolls surged in October and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% from 4.2%.
That data, together with comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, have left financial markets wavering between pricing in a quarter-point rate hike in December and a half-point increase, Reuters reported. Markets also anticipate another increase in borrowing costs in January, according to CME’s FedWatch tool, Reuters reported. The Fed left its benchmark rate in the 3.75%-4.00% range last month, according to Reuters.
Waller has warned that if the data warranted a larger move, “hiking only 25 basis points would put our credibility at risk, a risk I am not eager to take,” IBTimes reported.
Consumer prices rose 0.4% in October after a 0.6% increase in September, IBTimes reported, citing the BLS. “Today’s PPI data – which shows some signs of improving, albeit still too-high – is unlikely to change the Fed’s approach in December because the CPI data was already outside their comfort zone,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, told CNBC, according to IBTimes.
The Washington Examiner reported that economists have been closely watching PPI data amid the war with Iran and concerns that higher energy prices will filter through to overall inflation.
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- Original post: Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) on X, Nov 13, 2026
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