Wholesale inflation was softer than expected, retail sales moved higher in November [View all]

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: CNBC

Economy
Wholesale inflation was softer than expected, retail sales moved higher in November

Published Wed, Jan 14 2026 8:58 AM EST
Updated 11 Min Ago

Jeff Cox
@JeffCoxCNBCcom
@jeff.cox.7528

KEY POINTS
* The producer price index rose just 0.2% in November. That was below the Dow Jones consensus for a 0.3% gain though one-tenth of a percentage point higher than October.
* On the consumer side, retail sales rose 0.6% for November. Economists had been looking for an increase of 0.4%. Excluding autos, sales were up 0.5%, compared with the 0.3% estimate.


Customers shop at a Trader Joe's store on Dec. 10, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty Images

Wholesale prices moved up less than expected while consumers kept up a heavy buying pace in November, according to economic data released Wednesday.

The producer price index, a measure of final demand prices that producers get in the marketplace, rose just 0.2% for the month, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was below the Dow Jones consensus for a 0.3% gain though one-tenth of a percentage point higher than October. ... Excluding food and energy, core PPI was flat on the month against expectations for a 0.2% gain.

Though the monthly readings were soft, headline PPI was up 3% from a year ago, well ahead of the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Core PPI excluding trade services posted a 3.5% annual gain, the biggest 12-month move since March 2025, according to the BLS. ... A 0.9% gain in goods prices fueled much of the PPI increase, with more than 80% attributable to a 4.6% jump in energy prices. Services prices were flat.

On the consumer side, retail sales rose 0.6% for November, according to Commerce Department figures adjusted for seasonality but not inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an increase of 0.4%. Excluding autos, sales were up 0.5%, compared with the 0.3% estimate.

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Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/01/14/wholesale-inflation-was-softer-than-expected-retail-sales-moved-higher-in-november.html

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Yes, Novenber. This us one of BLS's delayed reports.

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ppi.nr0.htm