US wholesale inflation came in hot last month. Producer prices rose 6% from a year earlier, most since December 2022, as the 10-week Iran war pushed up energy prices and put pressure on companies to pass along higher costs to consumers.
The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its producer price index — which tracks inflation before it hits consumers — shot up 1.4% in April, biggest monthly gain since March 2022.
Energy prices climbed 7.8% from March to April and 22.7% from a year earlier. Gasoline soared 15.6% from March and diesel, the dominant fuel used in shipping, jumped 12.6%.
Gasoline prices, which have already become painful for many Americans, rose again overnight to a national average of $4.51 per gallon, according to motor club AAA.
Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core producer prices rose 1% from March and 5.2% from April 2025.
All the numbers were much higher than economists had expected and it alters the dynamic at the Federal Reserve and its fight against inflation.