Wholesale Prices Edge Up in June

U.S. wholesale prices edged up slightly more than expected in June, but not enough to give the Federal Reserve reason to fret about inflation.

At the same time, other data released Thursday showed little improvement on the labor front but continued healthy consumer spending--one key ingredient to the economy’s recovery.

The Labor Department said its producer price index, a closely watched gauge of inflation at the wholesale level, climbed 0.1% last month. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core PPI rose 0.2%, the biggest rise since December, reflecting higher wholesale prices for autos, construction machinery and pharmaceuticals.

Last month’s bigger-than-expected gain in the PPI did not raise concern among Wall Street economists that the central bank would have to battle inflation soon, especially at a critical time when consumers and investors are losing faith in the U.S. stock markets.

Separate data from the Labor Department showed new applications for state unemployment benefits rose last week.

These initial claims rose by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted six-week high of 403,000. But the weekly data, a department official said, are volatile this time of year and hard to seasonally adjust as auto makers and others begin annual shutdowns at their plants.

The four-week moving average, considered a more reliable gauge of employment conditions because it irons out weekly fluctuations, inched up to 395,000 from 393,000.

Even with an uncertain outlook for the stock market, consumers are continuing to spend, separate reports Thursday showed.

June same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, exceeded those of May, when unusually cool weather slowed sales of seasonal goods such as air conditioners and grills. Retailers finally were rewarded with above-normal temperatures across most of the United States in June.

Retailers tracked by Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi chalked up a same-store sales increase of 5.1%, essentially in line with the bank’s expectation of 5%.