The producer price index (PPI) for finished goods, seasonally adjusted, jumped 1 percent in February after soaring 1.6 percent in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported. However, the "core" index, excluding food and energy costs, fell 0.5 percent, undoing part of the unexpectedly large 0.9 percent increase in January.
The PPI for materials and components for construction, an intermediate category, rose 0.3 percent in each of the last two months, 0 in December, and 1.3 percent over the year ending in February.