Updated: US February PPI 0.0% vs 0.3% Forecast (MoM)

Comment:

Inflation in U.S. wholesale trade remained unchanged in February, supported by a decline in service costs, indicating some price pressure ahead of the additional tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) showed no change compared to the previous month, following a revised increase of 0.6% in January, according to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists expected a 0.3% rise. On an annual basis, the PPI increased by 3.2%.

The wholesale trade data follows a BLS report from Wednesday, which showed that consumer prices rose by only 0.2% last month—the smallest increase since October. President Donald Trump subsequently announced sweeping tariffs on the United States’ largest trading partners, which are likely to lead to higher prices for imported goods in the coming months.

Analysts closely monitor the Producer Price Index since some of its components are included in the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator—the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which will be released later this month. These categories remained stable, including a 1% rise in hospital inpatient care costs and a 0.5% increase in portfolio management expenses.

PPI (MoM) (Feb)
Actual: 0.0%
Forecast: 0.3%
Previous: 0.4%

PPI (YoY) (Feb)
Actual: 3.2%
Forecast: 3.3%
Previous: 3.5%