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发帖数: 29846 | 1 By ERIC MORATH And SARAH PORTLOCK
WASHINGTON—U.S. wholesale prices in August posted the largest one-month
gain in more than three years, fresh evidence that advancing energy costs
could create inflation pressures.
Meanwhile, the number of U.S. workers filing applications for jobless
benefits rose last because of the fallout from Tropical Storm Isaac, which
hit several Gulf Coast states late last month.
The producer-price index, which measures how much manufacturers and
wholesalers pay for finished goods, increased a seasonally adjusted 1.7% in
August from a month earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday. The biggest
gain since June 2009 was largely a result of energy prices rising 6.4% for
the month. So-called core prices, which strip out volatile energy and food
components, moved up 0.2% in August.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected overall producer prices
to rise 1.0% and core prices to grow 0.1%.
Wholesale energy prices rose in August for the first time since February as
gasoline prices climbed 13.6%, the largest increase in three years.
Liquefied petroleum gas, home heating oil and diesel-fuel costs also jumped
last month.
Signs of tension in the Middle East and North Africa, including Tuesday's
killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and a festering standoff between
Israel and Iran, threaten to push energy costs up further.
On a year-over-year basis, overall producer prices in August were up 2.0%,
the largest annual increase since March but still far below the 12-month
gain of 6.6% recorded a year earlier. Core prices increased 2.5% last month
from August 2011.
A relatively benign inflation environment for most of the year was one
factor giving Federal Reserve officials leeway to consider additional
stimulus, with the central bank noting at its meeting in early August that
inflation expectations have remained stable.
The Labor report showed food cost rose 0.9% last month as prices for eggs
and dairy products increased sharply.
Passenger-car prices decreased 0.2% in August after posting a 1.1% gain the
prior month.
Prices for intermediate goods—which are semifinished goods, like lumber or
flour, that require further processing—grew 1.1% in last month, the first
gain since March.
Prices of raw materials, known as crude goods, increased 5.8% in August,
suggesting prices for finished goods could rise further in the future.
Separately, initial jobless claims were up 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted
382,000 in the week ended Sept. 8, the Labor Department said. Economists
surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected 370,000 new applications for
jobless benefits last week.
Claims for the week ended Sept. 1 were revised up to 367,000 from an
initially reported 365,000. Unemployment claims are a measure of layoffs.
The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out weekly data,
increased by 3,250 to 375,000.
A Labor Department economist said several states reported more unemployment
applications, contributing 9,000 claims to the overall increase, as a result
of Tropical Storm Isaac.
The jobless-claims data come nearly a week after the Labor Department
released its monthly jobs report. In August, the U.S. economy added fewer
jobs than expected—96,000, compared with economists' projections of a 125,
000 payroll gain. But the unemployment rate, which is obtained by a separate
survey of U.S. households, fell to 8.1% from 8.3%.
The claims report showed the number of continuing unemployment-benefit
claims—those drawn by workers for more than a week—dropped by 49,000 to 3,
283,000 in the week ended Sept. 1. Continuing claims are reported with a one
-week lag. | P*********0
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【在 l****z 的大作中提到】
: By ERIC MORATH And SARAH PORTLOCK
: WASHINGTON—U.S. wholesale prices in August posted the largest one-month
: gain in more than three years, fresh evidence that advancing energy costs
: could create inflation pressures.
: Meanwhile, the number of U.S. workers filing applications for jobless
: benefits rose last because of the fallout from Tropical Storm Isaac, which
: hit several Gulf Coast states late last month.
: The producer-price index, which measures how much manufacturers and
: wholesalers pay for finished goods, increased a seasonally adjusted 1.7% in
: August from a month earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday. The biggest
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