WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. producer prices climbed last month at the fastest pace since November 2022, fueled by a surge in energy prices.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that its producer price index — which captures inflation before it reaches consumers — jumped 6.5% from May 2025. It also rose 1.1% from April, same as it did the previous month.
Inflationary pressures, intensified by the energy shock caused by the Iran war, are frustrating Americans five months before midterm elections that will determine whether President Donald Trump's Republicans keep full control of Congress.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core wholesale prices rose 0.4% from April and 4.9% from May 2025.
The wholesale inflation numbers came out a day after the Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose 4.2% in May from a year earlier, most in three years. Gasoline prices were up nearly 41% from May 2025. Airfares were up almost 27%.
Inflation is running well ahead of the Federal Reserve's 2% target. The central bank is expected to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged as its meeting next week. But financial markets expect the Fed could raise rates by the end of the year in an effort to curb price increases.
