Declining May Wholesale Inflation Shows More Easing of Price Pressures

Prices paid at the wholesale level took a surprising turn lower in May, providing more evidence for Federal Reserve officials that price pressures continue to ease.

Census Bureau data showed the Producer Price Index (PPI) for May dropped 0.2% when compared with April, less than the slight increase that economists had forecasted. Prices paid for goods fell by 0.8% in May, the largest drop in pricing since October 2023. Services prices were unchanged when compared with the prior month. 

The lower wholesale prices come after yesterday’s release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed consumer inflation was unchanged in May. These signs of slower price increases indicate the public may be seeing more relief from inflation pressures. A slowdown in inflation could also prompt the Federal Reserve to move interest rates lower. 

Why Wholesale Inflation Matters To The Fed

PPI is of interest to the Federal Reserve because some of the categories flow into their preferred measure of inflation, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index. It can also be used as a leading measure of inflation, as wholesalers often pass on price increases to retailers and consumers.

“The surprise drop in wholesale prices helps support expectations that disinflation has begun to inch lower on a more sustained basis,” said Quincy Krosby, LPL Financial chief global strategist.

The Federal Reserve will likely want to see a “couple more months” of declining inflation before moving to cut rates as many as two times this year, beginning in September, said Bernard Yaros, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. 

“We think this is likely, with residual seasonality behind us, the labor market in better balance, deflation in certain key goods prices, and housing inflation potentially due to switch to a lower gear,” he said.