By Sarah Chaney and Josh Mitchell 
 

WASHINGTON-A gauge of business prices rose in October, helping reverse September's decline, according to Thursday's Labor Department report. Here are the key takeaways:

-The producer-price index, a measure of the prices businesses receive for their goods and services, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in October from a month earlier. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected prices to rise 0.3% from September.

-Excluding the often-volatile food and energy categories, producer prices were up 0.3% in October from the prior month.

-Compared with October 2018, the overall PPI was up 1.1% last month. Annual inflation has softened in recent months.

-The producer-price measure typically tracks the same trends as other broad inflation gauges, though it does not always translate into what consumers pay. A gauge of prices paid by the average American, the consumer-price index, rose 0.4% in October from the previous month, the Labor Department said earlier this week. Core prices, excluding often volatile food and energy categories, were up 0.2%.

Write to Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 14, 2019 08:45 ET (13:45 GMT)

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