Producer prices in the US are falling. According to the US Department of Labor (BLS) the figure fell in May by 0.2% on a monthly basis after +0.5% in the previous month, while analysts’ expectations were for growth of 0.1%. On a yearly basis, there was an increase of 2.2%, below the +2.5% of the consensus and compared to +2.3% in the previous month.
The prices of “core” goods and services, i.e. the index stripped of the more volatile components such as the food and energy sectors, are flat on a month-on-month basis while on a year-on-year basis they recorded a +2.3% after +2.5% previous.
Requests for unemployment benefits are increasing. In the week to 8 June they amounted to 242 thousand units, an increase of 13 thousand units compared to the 229 thousand of the previous week and above the 225 thousand estimated by analysts. This is what the US Department of Labor underlines.
The average of the last four weeks, a more accurate indicator of the health of the labor market, as it smooths out the strong fluctuations observed weekly, stood at 227,000 units, up 4,750 units compared to the previous week’s figure.
Finally, in the week to June 1st, continuing requests for benefits stood at 1,820,000, up 30,000 thousand units compared to the 1,790,000 units of the previous week.
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
