Wholesale prices rise on higher gas costs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale prices rose in October for the fourth straight month as the cost of gas increased by the most since January.

The Labor Department said today that the Producer Price Index rose 0.4 percent last month, the same increase as September and August. Wall Street analysts had expected a larger increase. The index is up by 4.3 percent in the past 12 months.

Still, there was little sign of inflation in the report. Food prices fell slightly, confounding economists' expectations that they would rise due to higher costs for grains and other commodities.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, the so-called core index fell by 0.6 percent, the most in more than four years.

The drop was driven by lower prices for new cars and pickup trucks. The department incorporates the price impact of the new model cars that automakers introduce each year in the October index. New car prices rose last month, but by less than in previous years. Under the department's seasonal adjustment process, that translates into a lower price.

Car prices fell by a seasonally adjusted 3 percent, the department said, and pickup truck prices fell by 4.3 percent. Both were the biggest drops in about four years.