Wholesale prices rose more than expected in April, 0.5%

Wholesale prices increased in April more than expected in April, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

The agency's Producer Price Index, a gauge of prices received at the wholesale level, increased 0.5% for the month, compared to the previous month and higher than the 0.3% Dow Jones estimate, according to CNBC.com.

The report tamps down optimism for interest rate cuts anytime soon.

On a year-over-year basis, wholesale inflation rose 2.2%, also the highest in a year, according to the report, from the agency's Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Still, analysts slightly downplayed the April report, considering the March reading was revised from an initially reported 0.2% gain to a decline of 0.1%.

"With last month’s numbers revised lower, this report may not have been as much of an upside shock as it first appeared to be,” Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing for E-Trade from Morgan Stanley, told CNBC.

The core PPI inflation was at 2.4%, the biggest annual move since August 2023. Both numbers were in line with estimates from Reuters.