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Daily Roundup of Key US Economic Data for May 13

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The PPI rose by 1.4% in April following a 0.7% gain in March, well above expectations, with energy prices up 7.8% and food prices up 0.2%.

Core prices, which exclude food and energy, increased by 1.0%, also above expectations, after a 0.2% increase in the previous month.

Goods prices were up 2.0% and services prices were up 1.2% in April, with trade services prices up 2.7%.

The year-over-year rise in producer prices accelerated to 6.0% from 4.3% in the prior month, reaching their highest points since December 2022, while core prices accelerated to 5.2% year-over-year after a 4.0% year-over-year increase in the previous month, also the highest since December 2022.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 1.7% gain in mortgage applications in the week ended May 8 after a 4.4% decline in the previous week. Refinancing activity fell while new home applications increased despite slightly higher mortgage rates.

Total crude oil inventories fell by 12.9 million barrels in the week ended May 8, with commercial oil inventories down 4.3 million barrels and stocks in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve down 8.6 million barrels. Gasoline inventories declined while distillate inventories increased slightly.

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