Wholesale inflation fell 0.5% in July, in another sign that price increases are slowing

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday that wholesale prices fell in July for the first time in two years.

The producer price index, which measures the prices received for final demand products, fell in June for the first time since April 2020. The economists were expecting an increase in the number of jobs.

The index rose 9.8% annually, the lowest rate in more than a year. In June and March, the increases were 11.2% and 11.7%, respectively.

The majority of the decline came from energy. The index for final demand goods fell by 1.8%, while the index for services was little changed.

Stripping out food, energy and trade services, the producer price index increased less than anticipated in July. The core rate of increase was 5.8%.

After the consumer price index showed that inflation was flat in July, the numbers came. Energy prices have fallen below $4 a gallon after hitting record nominal levels above $5 earlier in the summer.

After more than a year of high inflation, the Federal Reserve is keeping a close eye on the data to see where the economy is headed.

Prices were at their highest level in more than 40 years before July. Supply chain issues, demand imbalances, and high amounts of fiscal and monetaryStimulus associated with the Pandemic had driven the annualCPI rate past 9%, well above the Fed's 2% long-run target

The data this week could give the Fed reason to slow the pace of rate increases. In September, markets are pricing in a small move.

The Labor Department report showed that there were 262,000 claims for the week ended August 6.

There has been an increase in claims recently in a sign that the labor market is changing. The number of continuing claims increased to over 1.5 million.