U.S. producer prices fell in December by the most in more than three years as energy costs plunged, although underlying inflationary pressures were tame, the government reported Thursday. The Labor Department said its producer price index (PPI) fell 0.3 percent last month, the biggest decline since October 2011, after falling 0.2 percent in November. For all of 2014, producer prices increased 1.1 percent, the smallest 12-month gain in more than a year. Wholesale energy prices fell a record 6.6 percent in December after declining 3.1 percent the previous month. Prices have fallen for six consecutive months, reflecting plunging crude-oil prices amid increased shale production in the United States and weakening global demand. Core PPI, which excludes energy, food, and trade services, rose 0.1 percent in December after being flat the previous month. The measure was up 1.3 percent for all of 2014. Both PPI and core PPI are running well below the Federal Reserve (Fed) 2-percent target. Fed officials largely view the energy-driven weakness in inflation as temporary. But with retail sales and average hourly earnings—another key inflation measure—falling in December, central-bank policymakers will have more to consider as they debate the timing of raising interest rates, which have been near zero since December 2008.
