John Carney 16 Jul 2025
Prices paid to American businesses for goods and services held steady in June, defying predictions that tariffs would create inflationary presssures in the U.S. economy.
The producer price index was unchanged in June compared with the previous month, the Department of Labor said Wednesday. Economists had expected a rise of 0.2 percent after a 0.3 percent rise in May and a 0.3 percent decline in April.
Compared with a year ago, the producer price index (PPI) is up 2.3 percent, a significantly slower rate of inflation than the 2.5 percent forecast and the 2.6 percent reported in May.
PPI for final demand measures the prices paid to American businesses for goods and services. It includes sales to consumers, households, businesses, and foreign purchasers, a broader array of customers than is measured by the consumer price index. Although it is sometimes referred to as a “wholesale” price index, it is not an index of wholesale prices.
Goods prices rose by 0.3 percent in June but these increases were offset by a 0.1 percetn decline in the much larger services sector.
Core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, was also flat for the month. Compared with a year ago, core PPI is up 2.6 percent, a significant slowdown in inflation from the prior month’s 3.0 percent annual increase.
So-called “super core” PPI, which also excludes a measure of business margins known as “trade services,” was also flat. Compared with a year ago, it is up 2.5 percent, down from the 2.7 percent gain recorded in May.
The Labor Department’s PPI survey also includes data on intermediate demand prices, which reflect what businesses receive from sales to other businesses for goods and services that are used to produce products for final demand. Processed goods for intermediate demand ticked up 0.1 percent and unprocessed goods rose by a sharp 0.7 percent. Prices for intermediate services fell 0.1 percent.
https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2025/07/16/producer-prices-there-was-no-inflation-at-all-in-june/