US wholesale prices dip in April   

MAY 14, 20159:01 PM

[WASHINGTON] US producer prices resumed their downward trend in April as the cost of energy fell and a strong dollar kept underlying inflation pressures benign, supporting views that the Federal Reserve will only raise interest rates later in the year.

The Labor Department said on Thursday its producer price index for final demand fell 0.4 per cent last month, declining for the third time this year. The PPI increased 0.2 per cent in March.

In the 12 months through April, producer prices fell 1.3 per cent, the biggest year-on-year decline since 2010, after declining 0.8 per cent in March.

Economists had forecast the PPI rising 0.2 per cent last month and falling 0.8 per cent from a year ago.