WASHINGTON – Wholesale prices on domestically produced women’s and girls’ apparel rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent in July, but were down 0.1 percent compared with a year ago, the Labor Department said Tuesday in its Producer Price Index.
Soaring energy costs drove up wholesale prices across the economy by 0.1 percent in July, reflecting the smallest increase in five months. Outside of the volatile food and energy costs, “core” wholesale prices fell by 0.3 percent in July.
“Producer prices for finished consumer goods, less food and energy, indicate where core consumer prices are headed,” wrote Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, in a report, noting they fell 0.3 percent in July after rising 0.2 percent in May and June. “The 0.3 percent decrease in core producer prices indicates inflation is beginning to moderate as the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee anticipated at its Aug. 8 meeting.”
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