Wholesale prices stay flat

WASHINGTON -- U.S. companies paid the same amount for wholesale goods last month as in July as a drop in energy prices offset higher food costs.

Excluding volatile food and energy categories, core wholesale prices edged up 0.1 percent, the smallest increase in three months. The figures indicate inflation pressures are easing.

The Producer Price Index, measuring price changes before they reach the consumer, was unchanged in August, the Labor Department said Wednesday, after a 0.2 percent rise in July.

In the past 12 months the index has increased 6.5 percent, mostly due to higher gas and food costs. That's the smallest 12-month rise since March, though bigger than the annual changes late last year. Core prices rose 2.5 percent in the past 12 months, the same pace as in July.

"It does seem as though wholesale prices have plateaued," said Gregory Daco, economist at IHS Global Insight. They are likely to remain at roughly the same level or inch down in future months, he said. Food prices rose 1.1 percent in August, the largest increase since February.