The U.S. wholesale prices increased 1.7 percent in August, outpaced the economists' expectations as gasoline prices soared by the largest amount in a decade, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Tuesday.
According to the report, the wholesale prices increase in August is more than double the 0.8 percent rise economists had forecast. The prices had fallen by 0.9 percent in July. Both months were heavily impacted by energy prices.
The Labor Department said that excluding volatile energy and food costs, core inflation posted a more modest 0.2 percent increase, close to the 0.1 percent advance economists had expected.
Analysts said that the sharp rise of wholesale prices is not a signal that inflation was in danger of becoming a problem.
Recent data showed that the U.S. economy is on the way of rebound from the recession, however, the economy remains fragile, with high unemployment rate as the major concern.
The unemployment rate, currently at a 26-year high of 9.7 percent, is expected to hit 10 percent by the end of this year.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers, who meet next week, are expected to keep the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other on overnight loans, at a record low of zero to 0.25 percent.
The rate has been kept at that low level for more than nine months and was considered one of the key measures of the central bank to fight financial crisis and economy recession.
Source: Xinhua
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