U.S. Department of Labor reported that wholesale prices rose more than expected in January. The producer price index (PPI), a measure of prices received by producers of domestic goods and services, rose 0.3% for the month, the biggest move since August ‘23. Economists had expected a smaller rise of just 0.1 percent. The biggest drivers of the increase were prices of services, which rose 0.6 percent from the prior month, the largest advance since July of 2023. Core producer prices (excluding food and energy), increased 0.5%, also much higher than expected. The core element of (PPI) better approximates the costs associated with construction matters vs. the broader consumer price index (CPI). With regard to CPI, this latest DOL report comes just days since that measure’s increase showed inflation holding higher despite Fed efforts to moderate the index during the past year. [I.e., CPI was up 3.1% from a year ago, well ahead of the Fed’s goal for 2% inflation].