Producer Prices Fall 1.9% in December

Prices paid to U.S. producers fell 1.9% in December, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The so-called core producer price index excluding food and energy rose 0.2%, Labor said.

Analysts had forecast the PPI to drop 2%, while core prices were projected to fall 0.1%, Bloomberg reported.

Wholesale prices fell 0.9% last year, the first drop since 2001, but excluding food and energy, wholesale costs rose 4.3%, the biggest gain since 1998.

An increase in the PPI could indicate strong demand for goods, which would mean more shipments for trucking companies. However, if inflation begins to accelerate too quickly, it could also hurt the economy.