The Federal Reserve's multi-year battle with inflation continues to grind on the U.S. economy after Tuesday's data revealed a higher-than-expected increase in the Producer Price Index.
The PPI, one of the Fed's preferred gauges for the state of the economy, reflects cost increases to wholesalers that get passed along to consumers.
It rose 0.5% in April, ahead of the 0.3% projection. Stripping away the more volatile food and energy costs, the figure also climbed 0.5% compared to the 0.2% expectation.
Those inflated figures are sure to add more urgency for the Fed to reach its 2% inflation goal and postpone any hopes of a drop in elevated interest rates.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell was scheduled to discuss the data as the central bank's future plans today.
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