US producer inflation eases to 6% in January

ISTANBUL

US annual producer inflation eased to 6% in January, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

The figure marks a slowing from December's annual gain of 6.5%, which was revised upward from 6.2%.

It is also a significant retreat from the record annual jump of 11.7% in March.

However, the producer price index (PPI), which measures changes in the price of goods and services from a producer perspective, was higher than estimates of 5.4% for January.

PPI rose 0.7% in January, also coming above expectations of a 0.4% increase. The figure for December was revised to a 0.2% decline, from a decrease of 0.5%.

"Most of the January advance is attributable to a 5.0-percent jump in prices for final demand energy," the Labor Department said in a statement.

Core producer prices, which exclude food, energy and trade, moved up 0.6% in January after rising 0.2% in December.

Core PPI climbed 4.5% on an annual basis, following a 4.7% rise in December.