March U.S. producer prices broadly advanced at the same monthly rate as in February, and at a much slower rate than what economists expected given impacts from the ongoing Iran War.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics shared its monthly Producer Price Index report on April 14— measuring the change in selling prices by domestic producers for their output — which showed that March’s total PPI rose 0.5% month-over-month, following April’s unrevised 0.5% gain and December’s 0.4%. 

The March topline increase was far below the +1.1% economists had expected.

On a year-over-year basis, total PPI rose 4.0% in March for its largest such increase since February 2023 (+4.7%).

Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the core PPI index increased by just 0.1% in March month-over-month for its weakest advance in four months and trailing expectations of a 0.5% increase after February’s revised 0.3% increase. Year-over-year, core PPI advanced 3.8% to match February’s revised mark and also below expectations of a 4.1% gain.

The Index for final demand goods — the closest measure to consumer prices — increased 1.6% in March for its biggest one-month rise since August 2023 (+1.6%), led by a 8.5% jump in the index for final demand energy due to a 15.7% spike in gasoline prices.