Producer inflation accelerated in August, as wholesale prices rose record 8.3% from a year ago

[Calista241]

Source: CNBC

Prices that producers get for final demand goods and services surged in August at their highest annual rate since at least 2010, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The producer price index rose 0.7% for the month, above the 0.6% Dow Jones estimate, though below the 1% increase in July.

On a year-over-year basis, the gauge rose 8.3%, which is the biggest annual increase since records have been kept going back to November 2010. That came following a 7.8% move higher in July, which also set a record.

The data comes amid heightened inflation fears fed by supply chain issues, a shortage of various consumer and producer goods and heightened demand related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Federal Reserve officials expect inflationary pressures to ease through the year, but they have remained stubbornly persistent, with Friday’s numbers indicating that the trend likely will continue.

Excluding food, energy and trade services, final demand prices increased 0.3% for the month, below the 0.5% Dow Jones estimate. Still, that left core PPI up 6.3% from a year ago, also the largest record increase for data going back to August 2014.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/10/august-wholesale-prices-rise-8point3percent-on-an-annual-basis-biggest-advance-on-record.html

[jimfields33]

1. Ok. So shouldn't social security go up 8.3 instead of 6.2?

[Haggard Celine]

2. Yes!

I need it to go up now! Everything is going up except our checks. And some people want to "pause" the reconciliation bill.

[Tess49]

3. I sure hope it does!

[totodeinhere]

4. SS benefits should be increased more but unfortunately the yearly adjustment to SS benefits

is based upon the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, not Wholesale Price Index. Those two indexes are seldom exactly the same.

[peppertree]

5. Every time a Repug brings up inflation, just say one word: BUSH

https://www.statista.com/statistics/193963/unadjusted-producer-price-index-for-commodities-in-the-us-since-1990/

[madville]

11. Then they just bring up Carter

Voters tend to live in the present anyway, what is affecting them right now. To point and say something was worse 15 or 40 years doesn't do anything for someone having to spend more of their money today.

[madville]

6. So by the time the $15 minimum wage kicks in in many places

It will have lost most of it's buying power, great.

[Igel]

9. Same for my salary.

Public school teacher.

My DCP will also be reduced. It's based on the last so-many years, but at some point it will simply break and not have assets. I should retire in 5 years. But with the DCP's already looking a chunk of value it's more likely I'll go on for another 6 or 7 years to try to break even.

I'm in line for some Social Security, but that receives a lagging increase so it always decreases.

And the tax-deferred savings is also taking a real hit.

Now, "It's temporary" does nothing to cut the losses incurred. You lost 15% of the value, it's lost. Why? Because as soon as the effects are reversed it's called "deflation" and the Fed intervenes to make sure that the on-going devaluation may be temporary, but the actual losses incurred are forever.

"But debt is reduced in value, too." That's fine. My income is largely fixed. As things like food and transportation increase in price, my salary doesn't change much and the loans don't either. Result: Decline in standard of living. Even as others say, "This is a really good thing!"

Gee. That makes me really want to support them.

Thing is, as salaries rise overall, it pushes people into higher tax brackets. The privileged classes always protect themselves.

[totodeinhere]

7. This is going to give Republicans a lot of ammunition.

Never mind that prices have gone up faster than that under previous Republican administrations. Republican are hypocrites so they will criticize anyway. And so-called moderate Democrats like Manchin will argue that the President's social infrastructure bill is too costly and they will use use this to say that the bill will cause more inflation.

[The Mouth]

8. And it's not even winter yet

Natural Gas prices are looking really, really bad... (yes, we should go to solar, but I'm talking about people getting 2x higher heating bills this year, not a good look for the midterms even if it's actually a world-wide issue).

[malthaussen]

10. Yeah, and consumers are suffering some inflation, too.

Some food prices have taken substantial jumps over the past few weeks. Like 25-50% in some cases.

-- Mal

[madville]

12. Many folks see higher grocery and gas prices as the measure of how the economy and inflation are

Those numbers are what affect just about everyone, right in their face every week. When people's food, fuel, and utility bills start increasing dramatically that's when politicians start getting fired at the voting booth, regardless of party.