U.S. producer prices rise at hotter-than-anticipated pace in February in World Economy News 19/03/2026 Producer prices in the U.S. rose at a faster-than-anticipated pace in February, underlining the inflationary pressures on the American economy that some analysts fear could intensify in the months ahead due to the Iran war. U.S. producer prices for final demand climbed by 0.7% last month, up from 0.5% in January, due largely to higher services costs. Economists had expected the reading to cool to 0.3%. “The large upside surprise to the [producer-price index] in February confirms that stronger inflationary pressures were already making their way through supply chains even prior to the surge in oil prices,” analysts at Capital Economics said in a note. In the twelve months to February, the PPI accelerated to 3.4%, compared to expectations that it would match an advance of 2.9% in the prior month. Some parts of the PPI and a separate tracker of consumer price growth factor into the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, one of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metrics. Core PCE was estimated to stand at 3.1% year-on-year in February, matching January’s rise but well above the Fed’s 2% target level. The Fed is seen holding interest rates steady at its latest policy meeting on Wednesday, as policymakers grapple with both signs of elevated inflation and recent data pointing to a weakening labor market. Hovering over the gathering is the three-week-old U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran, which has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes. Crude prices have spiked since the start of the conflict in late February, fueling worries over a fresh spike in overall prices. Indications of the energy shock have appeared to emerge in recent days. Gasoline-pump prices in the U.S. have already jumped, while airlines have warned of a need to raise fares to offset a rise in fuel costs. Such increases could show up in inflation measures for March, analysts have suggested. Source: Investing.com 2026-03-19 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share