NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. wholesale prices rose a bit in September, the government said Friday, above Wall Street forecasts.
The Labor Department said its producer price index (PPI), a measure of wholesale prices, rose 0.3 percent following a 0.4 percent gain in August.
The so-called core PPI, which excludes often volatile food and energy prices, was flat after rising 0.1 percent in August. Economists, on average, expected PPI and core PPI to rise 0.1 percent, according to Briefing.com.
"Inflation in the U.S. remains virtually non-existent, as does corporate pricing power," said Sherry Cooper, chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns.
The report had little impact on U.S. stock prices, which rose slightly in early trading. Treasury bond prices also rose.
Low inflation has been a hallmark of the economy in recent years -- good news for consumers, but not necessarily good news for companies, some of which are struggling to maintain pricing power.
Some goods producers, in fact, have seen outright "deflation," or falling prices, drawing nervous comparisons between the United States and Japan, the world's second-largest economy, which has suffered from deflation for much of the past decade.
Though economists doubt the United States will face outright deflation, the Federal Reserve continues to look out for "disinflation," or slowing inflation, which could set the stage for deflation if the economy should weaken.
With this in mind, the Fed has kept the target for its key overnight lending rate at the lowest level in more than 40 years. Low rates encourage borrowing and economic activity, and the Fed hopes it will also support corporate pricing power.
The Labor Department said Friday that core PPI has risen just 0.1 percent in the past 12 months, a sign that the Fed may need to stay on alert.
"This report will not change the Fed's view on the inflation outlook -- they will keep rates low for still some months to come," Cooper said.
Fed policy makers are scheduled to meet again on Oct. 28. They are widely expected to leave rates alone.
Prices for "intermediate goods" -- such as flour, yarn and paperboard -- fell 0.1 percent overall and rose just 0.1 percent excluding food and energy. Volatile prices for crude goods -- such as wheat, cotton and lumber -- jumped 3.4 percent, while core crude goods prices rose 2.3 percent.
Volatile food prices rose 1.2 percent, including a 20 percent jump in vegetable prices. Energy prices rose just 0.1 percent, led by a 2.2 percent increase in gasoline prices.
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