The wholesale price index in the United States, which measures inflation on the producer side, accelerated in October, an evolution in line with that of inflation on the consumer side, and which could complicate the equation for the bank American central, the Fed. Wholesale prices increased by 2.4% year-on-year, compared to 1.9% in September – a figure revised upwards -, according to the PPI producer price index published Thursday by the Commerce Department. Over one month, the increase is 0.2%, compared to 0.1% in September, a development in line with analysts' expectations. The increase is mainly attributable to prices for financial portfolio management, specifies the Commerce Department.
This progression was “driven by rapid increases in stock prices”Samuel Tombs, chief US economist for Pantheon Macroeconomics. Furthermore, he specifies, “Domestic air travel prices jumped 8.8%, the biggest increase in October since measurements began in 1990. The drop in airline fuel prices since the summer suggests that airline ticket prices 'plane will drop soon'. Inflation on the consumer side, measured in particular by the CPI index, also rebounded in October, for the first time since March, to +2.6% over one year compared to +2.4% in September, due to particularly housing prices. The surge in prices since 2021 has played a very important role in the election of Donald Trump, with voters having sanctioned the Democratic camp of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
This rebound should also complicate the work of the American central bank, which has started to lower its rates in response to the slowdown in inflation, and now in order to avoid a surge in unemployment. On November 7, it lowered its rates for the second time in a row, by a quarter of a percentage point this time, compared to half a point the previous time. These are now in the range of 4.50 to 4.75%, after having plateaued for more than a year at their highest level since the early 2000s, which had made access to credit difficult. for American households and for businesses. The next Fed meeting will take place on December 17 and 18, and a further cut of a quarter point is expected by market participants, according to the CME Group tool.
