Around the end of 2018, the annual rate of prices received by producers began a downtrend which then continued through 2019. A month ago, there was some suggestion this trend may have finished. However, the latest figures have done away with this idea.
The latest figures have been published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and they indicate producer prices fell by 0.3% after seasonal adjustments in September. The result was less than the expected +0.1% increase and less than August’s +0.1%. On a 12-month basis, the rate of producer price inflation after seasonal adjustments slowed to 1.4% after recording 1.8% in August and 1.7% in July.
“Core” PPI inflation also fell by 0.3%, reversing August’s 0.3% increase. Its annual rate slowed from August’s comparable rate of 2.3% to 1.9%.
ANZ FX strategist John Bromhead said, “The data suggests that firms are absorbing the cost of new tariffs rather than passing them on.”