The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday that wholesale inflation increased for the second consecutive month, mirroring the trend in the Consumer Price Index report.

As a result of price changes at the wholesale level, the Producer Price Index rose to 1.6% from 1.3% for the 12 months ending in August.

Producer prices increased 0.7% from 0.3% in July, a month-to-month increase. This was higher than economists’ expectations of a 0.4% rise. The increase in August was the largest one-month increase since June 2022.

August’s overall acceleration was largely driven by a 10.5% increase in energy prices, which led to a 2% rise in final demand for goods. The final demand for services, however, rose by 0.2%. Previously, service-side inflation had driven the index higher.

In August, core PPI rose 2.2% on an annual basis, in line with economists’ expectations.

As compared to July’s revised 0.4% gain, core PPI leveled off slightly in August, rising by 0.2%. According to economists, this was also expected.