US August producer price index up 0.1 pct, core rate down 0.4 pct

US inflation at the wholesale level rose slightly in August, but prices outside of energy and food fell for the second consecutive month as car and truck prices fell sharply, the Labor Department said Tuesday.
The department's Producer Price Index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, rose 0.1 pct last month, slower than the 0.3 pct gain analysts had expected. The PPI rose also rose just 0.1 pct in July.
The so-called core-rate of wholesale inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, unexpectedly fell 0.4 pct in the month after falling 0.3 pct in July. That's the first time the core-rate of wholesale inflation has fallen for two consecutive since November and December 2002. Economists had expected the core rate to rise 0.2 pct in August.
Light truck prices fell 3.4 pct, the sharpest drop since April 2003. Car prices fell 2.6 pct, matching declines in October 2005 and April 2003.
Producer prices have risen 3.7 pct over the past year, compared with a 4.2 pct year-over-year gain in July.
Energy prices rose 0.3 pct in the month, tempered by a 2.2 pct drop in gasoline prices. Residential natural gas prices rose 1.6 pct in August, while residential electric power costs rose 1.3 pct in the month.
Intermediate goods, which are partially processed materials, rose 0.4 pct in the month.
Crude goods rose 2.2 pct in August. Crude energy materials rose 5.9 pct in the month, the largest rise since October 2005. Prices for basic industrial materials, including iron and steel scrap, fell 2.8 pct in the month, the sharpest drop since June 2005.