WHOLESALE PRICES POST SMALL JUMP

WASHINGTON U. S. wholesale prices rose only 0.1 percent in May, another sign that inflation remains under control.

The Labor Department said the increase last month in its producer price index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach consumers, was half of April’s 0.2 percent increase.

Over the past year, producer prices have risen 1.8 percent. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, wholesale prices rose 0.2 percent in May from April and 2.3 percent from May 2018.

Boeing airliner deliveries tumble.

» With the 737 Max fleet still grounded after two deadly crashes, deliveries of new Boeing jets are falling far behind last year’s pace.

Boeing said Tuesday that it delivered 30 commercial airliners during May, down 56 percent from the 68 it made in May 2018.

Deliveries of 737s plummeted from 47 a year ago to just eight last month.

USDA: Weather delay cuts corn crop to smallest in 4 years.

MOINES, IOWA The U. S. Department of Agriculture dropped its estimate of this year’s corn crop to the lowest in four years, saying wet weather has delayed planting and reduced acres planted and the expected per- acre yield.

The expected production was cut in a monthly report released Tuesday by

1.4 billion bushels to 13.7 billion bushels, the lowest since 2015.

While weather problems also have slowed soybean planting, the USDA didn’t change estimates since farmers have several more weeks to plant.

U. K. labor market strong despite Brexit.

» The outlook for the British economy may remain murky amid the Brexit impasse, yet the country continues to post impressive jobs growth, which is helping wages rise back to the levels they were before the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.

A raft of labor market figures released Tuesday highlighted that the labor market remains strong despite the lack of clarity over how Britain’s scheduled departure from the European Union will play out.