Wholesale prices unexpectedly drop in broad-based retreat

Washington

WHOLESALE prices in the US unexpectedly declined in April from the prior month, indicating inflation is well contained as Federal Reserve officials weigh when to raise the benchmark interest rate.

The 0.4 per cent drop in the producer price index followed a 0.2 per cent gain in March that was the first increase in five months, a Labor Department report showed on Thursday. The decrease exceeded the lowest estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Over the past 12 months, wholesale prices fell 1.3 per cent, the most in records dating back to 2010.