Labor Department reports high-than-expected wholesales price increases in January

The Labor Department on Friday reported wholesale prices increased 0.3% from December to January, more than expected and considered another sign that inflation remains persistently despite Federal Reserve efforts and expectations.

The data is in the department's monthly Producer Price Index – a measure of prices received by producers of domestic goods and services.

January's mont-to-month increase was the biggest since August, according to CNBC.com.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones predicted a 0.1% increase. PPI declined 0.2% in December, CNBC also reports.

On a 12-month basis, headline PPI increased 0.9%, compared to 1.0% in December.

The Federal Reserve has impose a series of interest-rate increase since March 2023 to try to slow inflation.