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WASHINGTON - US producer prices declined sharply in February, snapping a four-month increase, on the back of slipping prices of energy-linked goods, government data showed Wednesday.
The producer-price index for finished goods declined 0.6 percent, following a 1.4 percent advance in January and a 0.4 percent increase in December as well as rises in the previous two months, the Labor Department said.
Most economists had expected a 0.3 percent drop last month.
Much of the decline in February prices was attributed to a 2.9 percent drop in prices for energy goods.
Producer prices are still 4.4 percent higher on a year-ago basis.
Excluding food and energy, core prices for finished goods were marginally higher at 0.1 percent, compared with a 0.3 percent increase in January.
Prices have been largely depressed since the United States plunged into its worst recession in decades in December 2007.
The economy has posted a mild recovery since the second half of last year but economists fear high unemployment could dampen growth if not controlled.
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday maintained interest rates at near zero percent on the back of a troubled labor market, tame inflation and the fragile recovery.
- AFP /ls
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