Producer prices posted their largest annual increase in more than a decade amid inflation pressures while the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell again last week as the economic recovery continues to be bumpy.
U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in July, the Labor Department said on Thursday, suggesting inflation could remain high as strong demand fueled by the recovery continues to hurt supply chains. In the 12 months through July, the PPI jumped 7.8%, a record high since the measure was introduced in 2010.
The producer price index for final demand increased 1.0% last month after rising 1.0% in June. Three-quarters of the gain was driven by a record one-month increase in final demand services, while the goods advance was half what it was in June.
JOBLESS CLAIMS CONTINUE TO FALL
Elsewhere, initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 375,000 for the week ended August 7, a separate Labor Department report showed on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 375,000 applications for the latest week. Unadjusted claims, which offer a better read of the labor market, decreased 5,198 to 320,517 last week.
Claims remain well above their pre-pandemic level of 256,000, though they have dropped from a record 6.149 million in early April 2020.
There are still fears that rising coronavirus cases, caused by the Delta variant, could slow the employment recovery amid a shortage of workers. There were a record 10.1 million job openings at the end of June. About 8.7 million people are officially unemployed.
Reference: Reuters
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