PPI Shows Inflation Rising

The latest inflation figures, released today, show that producer prices increased by 1.7% during January. While that may not sound like much, it represents a price increase for a single month! If prices continued rising at that rate throughout the year, it would represent an inflation rate of 20.4% (1.7% mo. X 12 mos. = 20.4% annually). While this number tends to be quite volatile, when combined with PPI figures for the past few months, it is not above the trend. Here is the Bloomberg story:

U.S. January Import Prices Rise More Than Forecast