WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation at the wholesale level climbed 8.3% last month from August 2020, the biggest annual gain since the Labor Department started calculating the 12-month number in 2010.
The Labor Department reported Friday that its producer price index — which measures inflationary pressures before they reach consumers — rose 0.7% last month after increasing 1% in both June and July.
Inflation has been stirring as the economy recovers from last year's brief but intense coronavirus recession.
Supply chain bottlenecks and a shortage of workers have pushed prices higher.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core producer prices rose 0.6% from July and 6.7% from a year earlier.
Food prices were up 2.9% last month after falling in July.
The report shows wholesale food prices rose 12.7%, including grains surging 98%, beef 59.2%, and 43.5% for shortening and cooking oil.
Gasoline rose from -2.5% in July to 75.1% over the past year.
