PPI Increases 0.3% in September; Core Index Unchanged

Prices paid to factories, farmers and other producers rose 0.3% in September, reflecting an increase in the price of food, but excluding the food and energy sectors, the "core" index was unchanged, the Labor Department said Friday.

Labor's producer price index measures price pressure before they reach consumers. The report was likely to provide support to the view of the Federal Reserve that so far there are no signs that inflation is becoming a problem, the Associated Press reported.

The PPI increased 0.4% in August, while the core rose 0.1%. Economists had expected a 0.1% rise in producer prices and a 0.1% increase in the core rate, Bloomberg said.

In the first nine months of the year, wholesale prices rose at a 4.3% annual rate compared with a 1.3% increase at the same time last year. Core prices are up 0.8% at an annual rate so far this year, compared with a 0.6% in the same period of 2002.

Labor said food prices jumped 1.2% in September after increasing 0.2% the month before. Energy prices rose 0.1% and gasoline prices rose 2.2%.

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