New Inflation Numbers Are Good News

Wholesale prices rose less than expected, and Dow futures jump as a result
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 15, 2022 7:53 AM CST
New Inflation Numbers Are Good News
A fuel delivery truck advertises its price for a gallon of heating oil Oct. 5 in Livermore Falls, Maine.   (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Another new economic report adds to the notion that inflation is easing—and markets appear to be pretty happy about it. The government said Tuesday that the producer price index, seen as a measure of wholesale inflation, rose 0.2% in October from September, less than the expected mark of 0.4%, reports CNBC. Compared to a year earlier, wholesale prices rose 8% for the month, but that marks the fourth straight decline in the increase, per the AP. Dow futures rose about 400 points when the Labor Department released the data.

The report follows last week's report on the better-known consumer price index, which showed that year-over-year inflation cooled to a slower-than-expected 7.7% in October, down from 8.2% in September, to the lowest such figure since January. And excluding volatile food and energy costs, that report also said that core prices rose just 0.3% in October from the previous month, half the increase of the previous two months. Those consumer inflation figures sent stock markets soaring because they suggested that the devastating price spikes of the past 18 months might finally be moderating. Investors hope it means the Federal Reserve will ease up on interest rate hikes.

(More inflation stories.)

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