Suppliers sharply boosted prices last month, in a sign upward pressure on already high consumer inflation continued to build at the start of the year.
The Labor Department on Tuesday said the producer-price index, which generally reflects supply conditions in the economy, rose a seasonally adjusted 1% in January from the prior month, the sharpest rise since May 2021 and a pickup from December’s revised 0.4% rise. The gains reflect pandemic-related disruptions from the Omicron variant of Covid-19 at the start of the year and continued strength in consumer demand, economists said.
