WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 (UPI) — Led by declines in the cost of gasoline, food and brokerage service, the United States’ wholesale prices fell in September by the largest margin since January.
Data released Wednesday by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed an adjusted 0.5 percent drop in the Producer Price Index in September. Costs decreased 1.1 percent over the past 12 months, with relatively low prices for households and wholesalers because of worldwide lowered demand. The majority of the downward trend can be credited to a decline in prices for final demand goods, products used by the final user which do not need any more processing, which fell 1.2 percent.
The price of gasoline fell 16.6 percent, and general energy expenses fell 5.9 percent in September.
The burden is now on the price of commodities, posing a problem for Federal Reserve Bank policy makers who seek indications inflation will move closer to the two percent target and an opportunity to raise the cost of borrowing for the first time since 2006.
