US Producer Price Index Remains Flat in November, Yearly Growth Slows

In November, the US Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand showed no change, coming in at a stagnant 0.0% month over month (mom), falling short of market forecasts which had anticipated a slight increase of 0.1% mom. This stagnation was observed across the board, with both the indexes for final demand goods and services holding steady, indicating no month-to-month inflationary pressure from the producer side.

Increment in PPI Excluding Food, Energy, and Trade Services

Despite the overall static nature of the PPI, there was a subtle movement noted when more volatile elements were excluded. The 'core PPI', which accounts for final demand minus foods, energy, and trade services, witnessed a slight uptick of 0.1% mom. This modest increase suggests a minimal yet present underlying inflationary trend when the most fluctuating components are removed from the calculation.

Slower Annual Pace for Producer Prices

Looking at the year-over-year (yoy) data, the annual growth in PPI decelerated from the previous rate of 1.2% yoy to 0.9% yoy, again underscoring the lower inflationary environment than what analysts had projected, which was a 1.0% yoy increase. The annual pace for the core PPI, minus foods, energy, and trade services, also saw a slowdown, dropping from 2.8% yoy to a reduced rate of 2.5% yoy. This indicates that while the month-to-month data remained flat, there has been a gradual easing in price increases over the year.

PPI, Inflation, Economy