U.S. producer prices recorded their biggest increase in five months in November amid rising costs for services, pointing to steadily rising inflation pressures.
The Labor Department said on Wednesday its producer price index for final demand increased 0.4 percent last month, the largest gain since June, after being unchanged in October.
In the 12 months through October, the PPI rose 1.3 percent, the biggest gain since November 2014. The PPI rose 0.8 percent in the 12 months through October.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI rising 0.1 percent last month and accelerating 0.9 percent from a year ago.
A 0.5 percent increase in the cost of services accounted for more than 80 percent of the rise in the final demand PPI last month. The increase, which followed a 0.3 percent decline in October, was the largest since January.
Producer prices are rising as some of the drag from last year's plunge in oil prices continues to fade. Oil prices are hovering around $50 per barrel, which could help offset some of the anticipated dampening impact on inflation from the dollar's renewed strength.