Businesses were hit even harder by inflation last month than consumers

Businesses were hit by inflation last month at levels not seen since late 2022.

The latest U.S. wholesale inflation report showed that prices paid by businesses to produce goods in September jumped sharply, to 6.3% on an annual basis.

From August, prices overall rose 0.6%, the Producer Price Index report showed.

The PPI report is typically seen as a sign of what’s to come for consumer prices, and this one followed a Consumer Price Index report Wednesday which also reflected a jump in prices.

Both reports indicate that inflation is back on the rise. But unlike high inflation earlier this year, the current impacts of rising prices are distributed broadly across the entire economy — beyond merely those sectors exposed to soaring gas, diesel and jet fuel prices.

The consumer and producer price indexes are also the last major inflation readings before voters across the country head to the polls in the midterm elections. At many locations, early voting is already underway.

Oil and gas prices have soared ever since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February.

“Half of the September increase” in producer prices was from the rising cost of gas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business