Inflation For Businesses Hits Highest Rate Since 2010

 

Inflation for businesses reached a year-over-year rate of 8.3% — the metric’s highest level since at least 2010.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the Producer Price Index — which monitors changes in input prices for businesses and other domestic producers — rose by 0.7% in August, slightly beating the 0.6% rate predicted by economists.

The Producer Price Index is now increasing at an 8.3% year-over-year pace — the fastest since November 2010. Fox Business reports that the rate has now risen for the fifth consecutive month.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics explained that a large portion of the inflation for final demand goods was driven by higher meat prices:

About a quarter of the August advance in prices for final demand goods can be attributed to an 8.5-percent rise in the index for meats. Prices for residential natural gas, industrial chemicals, processed young chickens, motor vehicles, and steel mill products also moved higher. In contrast, the index for iron and steel scrap decreased 3.7 percent. Prices for diesel fuel and for natural, processed, and imitation cheese also moved lower.