Wholesale prices fell 1.2% in March

The U.S. government says that wholesale prices dropped sharply last month as the cost of gasoline and other energy plummeted, fresh evidence that inflation appears to pose little threat to the economy. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that the Producer Price Index, which measures price changes before they reach consumers, fell by 1.2 percent in March compared to analysts' expectations of no change. The PPI increased 0.1 percent in February. The report says gas prices plunged 13.1 percent, the steepest drop since December, while food prices fell 0.7 percent. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, it says the PPI was unchanged, below analysts' forecasts of a 0.1 percent rise.