Producer Prices Jump 1.2%

Prices paid to U.S. producers jumped 1.2% in July, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

The core producer price index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.7%, Labor said.

The PPI ease was twice what economists had forecast, while core prices were forecast to rise 0.2%, Bloomberg reported.

Prices were up 9.8% from a year earlier, the biggest year-to-year increase in 27 years, Bloomberg said.

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.