US producer prices unexpectedly decline

Prices paid to US producers unexpectedly fell in June, signalling limited inflationary pressure after a coronavirus-induced slump in demand.

The producer-price index decreased 0.2 per cent from a month earlier after a 0.4 per cent gain in May, Labor Department figures showed yesterday. The cost of food fell 5.2 per cent. A Bloomberg survey of economists projected a 0.4 per cent gain in the June PPI. Excluding food and energy, the so-called core PPI dropped 0.3 per cent.