Updated: 14-Apr-26 09:30 ET
Highlights
- The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.5% month-over-month in March (Briefing.com consensus: 1.2%) following a downwardly revised 0.5% increase (from 0.7%) in February.
- The index for final demand, less foods and energy, rose just 0.1% (Briefing.com consensus: 0.4%) following a downwardly revised 0.3% increase (from 0.5%) in February.
- These changes left the index for final demand up 4.0% year-over-year, versus 3.4% in February, and the index for final demand, less foods and energy, up 3.8% year-over-year, unchanged from February.
- The index for final demand goods increased 1.6% following a 1.0% increase in February. That was the largest increase since August 2023.
- The index for final demand services was unchanged, pressured by a 0.3% decline in margins for final demand trade services.
- The index for processed goods for intermediate demand jumped 2.6%, which was the largest increase since May 2022. More than three-quarters of the advance was tied to an 11.3% increase in prices for processed energy goods.
- The index for unprocessed goods for intermediate demand declined 2.6%, the largest drop since April 2025, paced by a 7.7% decline in the index for unprocessed energy materials.
- The key takeaway from the report is that the inflation seen at the wholesale level in March was driven largely by energy prices and gasoline prices (+15.7%) in particular. The index for final demand services was unchanged, so the market is giving itself some latitude to look through the energy price shock as something that is temporary.
| Category | MAR | FEB | JAN | DEC | NOV |
| Final Demand | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Core (excluding ...) | |||||
| Food and Energy | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| Food, Energy, and Trade | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| Final Demand Goods | |||||
| Total | 1.6% | 1.0% | -0.1% | -0.1% | 0.8% |
| Energy | 8.5% | 2.1% | -1.8% | -1.5% | 3.4% |
| Finished Goods | 1.4% | 0.9% | -0.6% | -0.1% | 0.9% |
| Final Demand Services | |||||
| Total | 0.0% | 0.3% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| Trade | -0.3% | -0.4% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 0.2% |
| Intermediate Demand | |||||
| Processed | 2.6% | 1.6% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.6% |
| Unprocessed | -2.6% | 4.8% | 3.4% | 2.2% | 2.4% |
| Services | -0.1% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.2% |
