The Producer Price Index, a wholesale inflation gauge that is being closely watched for tariff-related impacts, showed that price hikes slowed substantially in February.
The PPI index was unchanged from January, and rose 3.2% for the 12 months ended in February, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Thursday. That marked a sharp slowdown from January, when prices rose 0.6% and 3.7% for those respective periods.
Economists were expecting wholesale-level inflation to cool amid falling energy prices, and that was the case: Energy prices fell 1.2% for the month.
PPI, which measures the average change in prices paid to producers of goods and services, serves as a potential bellwether for retail-level inflation in the months ahead.
The latest Consumer Price Index, released Wednesday, showed annual inflation slowed for the first time in five months.
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