PPI Rises 1% on Energy and Food Price Gains, Core PPI is Flat

The U.S. Labor Department released March's PPI numbers, showing a 1% overall gain, as producer prices were pushed higher by rising energy and food costs. The core PPI reading, which excludes food and energy prices, was flat, beating economists' expectations that core prices would rise by 0.2%. The overall PPI reading of 1% was higher than the 0.8% rise economists surveyed by MarketWatch were predicting. According to Bloomberg, the core figures show that so far, corporations are absorbing higher energy prices themself, rather than passing them on to the consumer. Looking at the bigger picture, the PPI is up 3.2% over the recent 12 month period, its biggest year-over-year gain since August. On the other hand, core PPI is up 1.7% over the recent 12 months, down from 1.8% in the 12 months ending with February's data. The report sent futures higher.

Sources: MarketWatch, Bloomberg
Commentary: U.S. Import Prices Rise Greater Than Expected 1.7%; Initial Claims Hit 8-Week High • Stock Ideas From Today's PPI Report • Soft PPI, Empire State Index Readings Send Futures Lower
Stocks/ETFs to watch: S&P 500 Index (SPY), Diamonds Trust Series 1 ETF (DIA), iShares Lehman Aggregate Bond (AGG)

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