Inflation, as measured by the producer price index, rose two-tenths of a percentage point to 3% for the year ending in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.
Economists have been examining producer price index reports and other inflation reports for indications the tariffs have driven up certain prices or if they might be covering up an underlying cooling-off of price pressures.
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On a month-to-month basis, the price index remained at 0.2%.
Core PPI inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose to 3% on an annual basis. Core inflation was 0.2% on a monthly basis.
Wednesday morning’s report on producer prices comes after the consumer price index report showed that inflation continued to trend down in 2025 — some good news for President Donald Trump as economists assess how the economy fared during the first year of his second term.
Inflation rose 2.7% the year ending in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. Still, inflation is running above the Federal Reserve’s 2% long-run target.
The Fed typically keeps interest rates higher when inflation is running too hot. In recent months, though, the central bank has begun cutting rates, in large part because officials have been concerned about softening in the labor market.
Trump has also been pushing the Fed to cut rates, although most Fed officials and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have resisted his demands, drawing his ire.
Despite declines in overall inflation in 2025, families across the country are still expressing discontent with prices and are reporting affordability issues. That has hurt Trump’s approval ratings and has made the economy one of the top issues heading into this year’s midterm elections.
On the jobs front, the labor market is still above water, although jobs growth has gradually slowed.
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The economy added 50,000 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.4%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. But with revisions to the numbers for October and November, the three-month moving average of job gains was -22,000 in December.
Despite that, private-sector job growth has been better, averaging nearly 30,000 over the past three months — something Trump has touted.
