U.S. February PPI Rises 0.7% Month-on-Month, Beating 0.3% Forecast and Lifting Annual Gauge

U.S. producer prices for February increased 0.7% month-on-month, more than double the 0.3% forecast, with the annual Producer Price Index registering 3.4% versus a 3.0% estimate. Core PPI, which excludes more volatile components, reached 3.9% compared with expectations of 3.7%. The data show inflation at the producer level running notably above projections.