Producer prices rose 1.1% in September, down from a 1.7% gain in August. The Briefing.com consensus expected the PPI to increase 0.8%. Nearly the entire gain was the result of a 4.7% jump in energy prices. Nearly 80% of that gain was the result of a 9.8% increase in gasoline prices. Even though agricultural spot prices have risen substantially over the past few months, those gains have not yet factored into producer price inflation. The food index increased a very modest 0.2% as prices of dairy products rose 2.8%. Excluding food and energy, core prices were flat in September after increasing 0.2% in August. The consensus expected these prices to rise 0.2%. There were no unusual outliers in the core data that would suggest a change in inflationary trends over the next few months. Pipeline pressures intensified slightly in September. After four consecutive months of declines, core intermediate goods prices rose 0.6% in September. Meanwhile, core crude goods prices increased 1.6%.






