Free Republic

Wholesale prices in the U.S. increased at their fastest annual rate ever in May, driven by rising food prices, as soaring inflation threatens to derail the post-pandemic economic recovery. The producer price index, which measures inflation pressure before it reaches consumers, rose 0.8 percent in May for an annual gain of 6.6 percent, the biggest jump since annual data was first compiled in 2010, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The annual gain is somewhat skewed by a 'base effect' from last year's data, when prices plunged early in the pandemic, but nevertheless offers another worrying signal to consumers that their...