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Saturday, 14 March 2015

Weak profit margins dampen U.S. producer inflation

Clif Small is seen getting a 2013 Accord ready to come off the line during a tour of the Honda automobile plant in Marysville By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. producer prices fell in February for a fourth straight month, pointing to tame inflation that could argue against an anticipated June interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve. The Labor Department said on Friday its producer price index for final demand declined 0.5 percent as profit margins in the services sector, especially gasoline stations, were squeezed, and transportation and warehousing costs fell. "The underlying message appears to be that pipeline inflationary pressures remain quite weak, even as energy prices have stabilized and gasoline prices have drifted modestly higher," said Millan Mulraine, deputy chief economist at TD Securities in New York. The PPI had dropped 0.8 percent in January.








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