Wholesale prices climbed 1.1% in March

The producer price index, a key measure of wholesale prices, increased 1.1% in March due to rising energy and food prices, the Department of Labor reported today. Energy prices rose 2.9% in March, while food prices gained 1.2%. The March increase in the PPI was the largest increase since the index rose 2.6% in November 2007. The core producer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy costs from the calculation, rose 0.2%. In February, the PPI increased 0.3%, while the core index rose 0.5%. For the 12-month period through March, the index rose 6.9%, while the core index rose 2.7%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected the PPI to increase 0.4% and the core index to increase by 0.2%.