WASHINGTON — U.S. wholesale prices rose 0.4 per cent in January, the biggest increase since November, as a big jump in energy prices offset a small decline in the cost of food. The January rise in wholesale prices, which measure the cost of goods before they reach the consumer, followed no increase at all in December and matched a 0.4 per cent rise in November, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Over the past 12 months, wholesale prices have risen 2.7 per cent. Wholesale prices data on Thursday showed that energy prices rose by 3.4 per cent in January, with a 7.1 per cent increase in gasoline prices, and similar increases in the cost of jet and diesel fuel. Food costs dropped 0.2 per cent, led by a 38.9 per cent plunge in the price of eggs, the biggest drop in two years, which helped offset a 3.4 per cent increase in the cost of vegetables.

Source: National Post February 15, 2018 13:39 UTC