- Annual core wholesale inflation jumps from 2.6% to 3.7%.
- Trump administration tariffs are believed to be the culprit.
- Dow Jones futures drop 200 points on inflation reading.
Dow Jones futures slumped an hour before the open on Thursday after the Producer Price Index (PPI) showed rising inflation in the wholesale sector.
The July core PPI, which excludes food and energy, printed at 3.7% YoY, noticeably above the 2.9% consensus and June’s 2.6% reading. The clear takeaway is that the Trump administration’s tariffs are beginning to filter into wholesale prices after large pre-tariff inventories and multiple tariff delays lose their potency.
President Trump’s national-level tariffs went into full effect just last week, but tariffs on steel, aluminum and other industries were already in effect in many cases.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell from a slight gain near 44,950 to 44,750 after the PPI print. The index was down 0.35% at the time of writing.
The headline PPI of 3.3% YoY also far outstripped consensus of 2.5% and June’s 2.4% reading. On a monthly basis, both core and headline PPI rose 0.9% on a monthly basis.