Producer Prices Dip 0.1% in December; Jump 6.3% for Year

Prices paid to U.S. producers dipped 0.1% in December but jumped 6.3% for all of 2007, the most in 26 years, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

The monthly producer price index decline followed a 3.2% gain in November that had been the biggest in 34 years and was led by soaring fuel costs.

The so-called core PPI excluding food and energy rose 0.2% following a 0.4% increase.

For the full year, surging commodity prices drove the PPI to its highest level since a 7.1% gain in 1981, Bloomberg reported.

An increase in the PPI could indicate strong demand for goods, which would mean more shipments for trucking companies. However, if inflation begins to accelerate too quickly, it could also hurt the economy.