US producer prices rose modestly in May, offering further evidence that inflationary pressures remain subdued even as tariffs continue to loom over global trade, according to data released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks inflation at the wholesale level before it reaches consumers, rose 2.6% in May from a year earlier. On a monthly basis, prices increased just 0.1% after a 0.2% decline in April. Both readings came in slightly below economists’ expectations, AP reported.
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Excluding the often-volatile categories of food and energy, so-called core wholesale prices rose 0.1% from April and 3% from a year earlier.
Energy prices were flat overall, although gasoline rose 1.6% following a decline the previous month. Food prices at the wholesale level edged up 0.1%, while egg prices — which had dropped a sharp 39.3% in April — rebounded by 1.4% in May. Egg prices remain 125% higher compared to May 2024, largely due to supply disruptions from the bird flu outbreak.
The PPI data came a day after the Consumer Price Index showed a similar trend, with consumer inflation rising just 0.1% month-on-month and 2.4% year-on-year in May.
Despite US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff policy — which includes a 10% baseline levy on nearly all imports and targeted duties on steel, aluminum, and autos — inflation has yet to show a broad-based resurgence. Economists caution, however, that the full effects of the tariffs may emerge later in the year as supply chains adjust and importers pass on higher costs.