U.S. May PPI Remains Moderate, Tariff Effects May "Come into Play Later"

BlockBeats reports that on June 12, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report on Thursday indicating that U.S. core PPI data for May came in below expectations, impacted by moderate costs of goods and services.

Although higher tariffs have not yet significantly affected U.S. consumers, economists have pointed out that price pressures could intensify in the second half of the year as businesses seek to prevent further erosion of profit margins. The PPI data revealed that following a decline in April, profit margins for wholesalers and retailers expanded in May, particularly in the wholesale sectors of automobiles and machinery. Profit margins have experienced month-to-month fluctuations this year, highlighting the uncertainty of trade policies on pricing and demand. Analysts are closely monitoring the PPI report because some of its components are used to calculate the Fed's preferred inflation gauge (PCE data).

Sectors that showed weakness in May include airline ticket prices, portfolio management fees, and medical costs, which remained moderate. The PCE report is expected to be released later this month. (Jin10)