The numbers: The producer price index for final demand rose 0.5% in February, the Labor Department said Friday.
The gain was in line with the forecast of economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal.
Wholesale inflation had jumped 1.3% in January, the biggest gain since 2009.
What happened: The gain in February wholesale prices can be traced to higher prices for energy, which climbed 6%. Gasoline prices rose 13.1%.
The index for final demand services inched up 0.1% in February after a strong 1.3% gain in the prior month.
In the 12 months through February, the PPI accelerated 2.8% after rising 1.7% in the in the prior month.
The core PPI index rose 2.2% over the past 12 months, up from 2%.
Prices were weak at the start of the pandemic last year so high annual growth rates are likely over the next few months.
Big picture: The outlook for inflation is a concern for investors in the wake of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package signed into law Thursday by President Joe Biden. Some economists think the burst of government spending will cause the economy to overheat.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has said he thinks the rise in prices will be temporary. It will take until the summer to know whether this is the case.
Wholesale price increases are often not passed along to consumers,
What are they saying? “Today’s report for February tends to confirm the theory that the January results were aberrational, as apart from continued steep gains in energy prices gains in February indices were in general considerably more moderate than those for January,” said Josh Shapiro, chief economist at MFR Inc.
Market reaction: Stocks
DJIA,
+0.65%
SPX,
-0.14%
COMP,
-0.87%
were volatile as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note
TMUBMUSD10Y,
1.622%
rose 9 basis points as the strong economy led to higher inflation fears.
