U.S. wholesale prices jumped in March due to rising food prices, especially for vegetables. MarketWatch reports:
The producer price index has risen by 6% in the past year, led by a 23% rise in energy prices, the government agency said. It's the largest year-over-year gain since September 2008.
Excluding often-volatile food and energy prices, the core PPI increased 0.1% in March and is up 0.9% compared with a year earlier.
The big story in the March PPI was wholesale food prices, which rose 2.4%, matching the biggest gain in 26 years. Prices of fresh and dried vegetables soared 49.3%, the most in 16 years. Prices of seafood, meat and dairy goods also rose. But prices of processed foods were unchanged.
Wholesale food prices are up 6.8% in the past year.
Retail prices for food are likely to continue to rise, as will gas prices. Both will put the squeeze on consumers' pocketbooks this summer.
