U.S. February Wholesale Prices Hold Steady Despite Surge in Egg Prices (Comprehensive)

# U.S. Producer Price Index Remains Flat in February; Egg Prices Surge 53.6% in a Month (New York) - According to a report by the U.S. Department of Labor on March 13, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for February remained unchanged compared to the previous month. This marks a slowdown from January's 0.6% increase and significantly falls short of the 0.3% rise forecasted by experts surveyed by Dow Jones. On an annual basis, the PPI increased by 3.2%. The core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose by 0.2% month-over-month, also missing the 0.3% estimate. Year-over-year, the core PPI posted a 3.3% gain. The price of final demand goods increased by 0.3% from the previous month, while the price of final demand services declined by 0.2%. Food prices saw a rise of 1.7%, but this was offset by a 1.2% decrease in energy prices. Notably, egg prices surged by a staggering 53.6% month-over-month, contributing to two-thirds of the overall increase in final demand goods prices, according to the Labor Department. The sharp increase in egg prices has raised concerns of 'eggflation,' a term coined to describe the inflationary effect driven by skyrocketing egg prices due to recent outbreaks of avian influenza in the U.S. Final demand transportation and warehousing services, which recorded significant increases in December and January, remained flat in February. The PPI, often referred to as wholesale inflation, is considered a leading indicator of consumer price trends, as it eventually gets reflected in the prices of final consumer goods. The inflation fears that had been escalating were somewhat tempered by the lower-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase of 2.8% for February, followed by the subdued PPI report. Nevertheless, inflationary pressures are expected to persist given that the impact of tariffs from the Trump administration has yet to be fully reflected. pan@yna.co.kr