WHOLESALE PRICES POST MODEST INCREASE IN JUNE

The Labor Department says its producer price index, which measures prices before they reach consumers, rose 0.1% last month after being flat in May. The index was up 2% in June from a year earlier. Wholesale energy prices fell 0.5%, including a 1.1% drop in gas prices. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, wholesale inflation was up 0.1% last month from May and 1.9% from a year earlier.