Producer price inflation (PPI) ended 2024 up 0.2 percent in December. That is a modest gain and was below pre-report expectations. Nonetheless, the PPI was 3.3 higher than a year ago, and substantially higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target. That stickiness trend will keep inflation squarely in the radar of the Fed’s focus in 2025. Moreover, as WPI reported on 6 January, the “Trump agenda of tariffs and immigration action which could reduce labor supply, and tax cuts all have the potential to be inflationary.” This is particularly noteworthy as commodity and goods prices were up 0.6 percent in December, and services were flat. 01142025dj.png 34.57 KBThe increase in the PPI in December was led by energy prices, which jumped...

TAGS – North America, Macroeconomics