Highlights
August's PPI showed pressures but less than expected. The overall index, expected to jump 0.7%, rose 0.6% but the core rate, seen up a tenth, was unchanged. Excluding energy, producer prices actually dipped a tenth.
But year-on-year rates are running hot, up 5.1% overall and up 2.4% for the core, the latter down 4 tenths from July but still above the 2.0% area that Federal Reserve officials keep their eye on.
Energy prices jumped 3.7% in the month, adding to July's 4.4% jump. Gasoline was up 9.5%. Further gains are now underway. These numbers remember are month-to-month changes! On the plus side, auto prices reversed July's jump falling 1.3% while communications equipment slipped 0.3%.
Today's data are pre-Katrina but are still important. Bonds firmed following release of the data, that included at 8:30 a.m. ET a smaller-than-expected July trade gap.
Price pressures were evident going into the hurricane shock. New increases in fuel and food, along with supply chain snags following the storm, point to even further price pressures ahead. Another jump in Thursday's CPI is expected, and today's PPI won't change expectations.