US Closes 2021 With Slightly Slower Producer Inflation

US wholesale prices grew at a slightly slower pace in December 2021, but remain elevated following the record-high seen in the previous month.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Producer prices jumped by 9.7% in December, slower than the 9.8% seen in November, which was the highest reading on record. It compares with the 0.8% growth reported in December 2020.

The latest figures brought final demand prices up 9.7% for the full-year 2021, marking the biggest calendar-year increase in over a decade since data collection started in 2010.

The growth in December is attributed to the 0.5% monthly increase in prices for final demand services, while prices of final demand goods for the month fell by 0.4%. Annual core producer inflation stood at 6.9%.

The increase in services prices is due to margins for fuels and lubricants retailing, which grew by 13.0%, along with the increase in the indexes for airline passenger services, food retailing, and machinery and vehicle wholesaling.

Final demand goods declined mainly due to a drop in gasoline prices which fell by 6.1%.