US wholesale inflation data maintains pressure on Fed to keep rates high

Producer prices in the US rose more than expected in January, reinforcing concerns about the stickiness of inflation that may prompt the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer to cool the economy.

The producer price index, which is often regarded as a leading indicator of where consumer inflation is headed in several months’ time, rose 0.7 per cent last month from December, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said on…