Wholesale prices rose 0.7% in February, much more than expected

[https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/18/ppi-inflation-february-2026.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/18/ppi-inflation-february-2026.html) Wholesale prices rose sharply in February, providing another sign that inflation continues to percolate even aside from rising energy prices. The producer price index, a measure of pipeline costs that producers receive for their products, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.7% on the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core PPI increased 0.5%. Excluding food, energy and trade services, PPI rose 0.5%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for increases of 0.3% for both measures. For the all items index, prices rose faster than the 0.5% pace in January. However, the core increase was less than the 0.8% for the prior month. On a 12-month basis, PPI inflation was at 3.4%, the most since February 2025, according to the BLS. The Federal Reserve targets inflation at 2%. The surge in PPI came due in large part to a 0.5% increase in services costs, something the Fed would not welcome. Policymakers have attributed much of the recent run-up in inflation to tariffs, which would not show up as much on the services end. Goods prices rose 1.1% on the month. Food prices rose 2.4% while energy was up 2.3%. Within food, the index for fresh and dry vegetables soared 48.9%.