Producer price inflation (PPI) in the U.S. economy in February was reported today as 0.7%, after 0.8% in January, and recorded a totally “unexpected” but official 3.9% increase for the year to February.
These increases were all measured, according to National Bureau of Economic Analysis standards, before any impact flowing from the American attack on Iran, which began Feb. 28. Moreover, the annual increase did not stem from energy producer prices at all, which rose merely by 2.4% annually. Rather, these consecutive PPI jumps reflected Trump’s tariffs, as businesses passed tariff inflation on other businesses buying their producer goods, but tried to protect consumer prices from them, to keep up sales.
