Wholesale prices see biggest spike since 2022 as energy costs climb

MoneyWatch Wholesale prices see biggest spike since 2022 as energy costs climb .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Aimee Picchi Aimee Picchi Associate Managing Editor, MoneyWatch Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports. Read Full Bio Aimee Picchi June 11, 2026 / 10:45 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Inflation facing U.S. businesses surged in May to its highest level since November 2022 amid higher energy prices stemming from the Iran war. The Producer Price Index, which registers inflation before it reaches consumers, soared 6.5% in May from a year ago, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. On a monthly basis, the PPI rose 1.1% from April, a faster pace than the 0.6% increase forecast by economists polled by financial data firm FactSet. The hotter-than-expected reading comes a day after the Consumer Price Index surged in May to an annual rate of 4.2%, its fastest pace in more than three years. Although the PPI doesn't directly signal changes in consumer prices, it can feed into broader inflation if businesses pass those costs on to customers. The data underscores the stark shift in the nation's inflation outlook this year, with gasoline prices remaining sharply elevated. Resurgent inflation is also likely to keep the Federal Reserve on the sidelines, with some Wall Street economists speculating that policy makers are more likely to hike interest rates than to cut them.The Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at its next meeting, scheduled for June 16-17, as officials monitor the latest inflation data."When determining the direction of monetary policy, the Fed looks to today's wholesale inflation figures as one piece in the larger puzzle," said Elizabeth Renter,...