US wholesale inflation gains

Washington: US wholesale inflation continued its upward trend in January, recording its largest monthly gain in more than four years, according to data released Tuesday by the Labor Department.

The Producer Price Index, which measures prices from the seller´s perspective, rose 0.6 percent in seasonally adjusted figures, which was the largest such gain since September 2012 and well above an analyst consensus forecast of 0.3 percent.

Excluding food and energy, the index saw a monthly gain of 0.4 percent. Year over year, however, the figure was unchanged at 1.6 percent, unadjusted.

"In short, fairly strong and not just because of energy," Jim O´Sullivan, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a client note.  "The core measures continue to show some acceleration, even if the latest data were exaggerated a bit by volatile trade margins." The large month-to-month gain supports views among US monetary policymakers that further interest rate increases may be necessary in 2017 to contain inflation.