1649 ET - After peaking at a 12% 12-month rate in mid-2022, PPI inflation fell to a 0% 12-month rate in June 2023, but has since reaccelerated right back to 3.3%. That is a very different trend from CPI. The divergence partly reflects that the index doesn't include some of the least volatile components of consumer inflation, such as shelter costs, economist Stephen Stanley of Santander tells WSJ. Though some individual PPI categories are important, it is hard to put much stock in the index as a whole, mostly because the concept of wholesale services prices, which the index includes, can be questionable, Stanley says. To pick one example, "there is no wholesale price of medical care," he points out. (matt.grossman@wsj.com; @mattgrossman)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 14, 2025 16:50 ET (21:50 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.