The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand in the United States rose 1.3% in September 2026, seasonally adjusted, marking its largest monthly advance since March 2022, according to the USDL 26-1576 report published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) this Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
The result triples the increase of July (+0.2%) and significantly surpasses that of August (+0.5%), indicating a notable acceleration in the trend of recent months.
In year-over-year terms, the index recorded a rise of 6.3% in the 12 months ending in September —without seasonal adjustment— the highest annual variation since December 2022, when it reached 6.4%.
Fuel was the absolute protagonist of the increase. Prices for final demand goods rose 2.6% month-over-month, the largest increase since the BLS began calculating this series in December 2009, and more than 80% of that jump is attributed to energy, whose subindex soared 10.8%.
Within the energy sector, wholesale gasoline prices increased by 20.3% in September, accounting for roughly half of the overall rise in final demand goods. Diesel, jet fuel, residential electricity, and crude oil also saw price increases. In contrast, hen eggs fell by 39.7% in the PPI.
Final demand food prices increased by 1.2% over the month, while goods excluding food and energy rose by only 0.3%.
In the services sector, the index grew 0.8% month-on-month, marking its largest increase since April. The transportation and storage segment led with a rise of 3.4% for the month —and 16.0% year-on-year— a significant figure for businesses that rely on freight and distribution.
The margins of wholesale trade in machinery and vehicles increased by 3.9%, accounting for more than 20% of the rise in services.
The core index —which excludes food, energy, and commercial services— rose by 0.5% monthly and 5.0% year-on-year.
What does the PPI measure and how does it differ from the CPI?
The PPI records the prices received by domestic producers at the wholesale level, before the goods reach the final consumer. It is different from the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures what households pay at the point of purchase.
Therefore, the 20.3% increase in gasoline prices in the PPI does not contradict the 9.1% recorded in the CPI for September: both measure different points in the price chain.
The PPI is considered a leading indicator of inflationary pressures. When wholesale costs rise, companies may pass some of that increase on to final prices, although this transfer is neither automatic nor immediate, as profit margins can absorb part of the increase.
The data comes a day after the BLS released the Consumer Price Index for September, which showed a year-over-year consumer inflation of 3.7% and a monthly increase of +0.6%, also driven by energy.
The BLS also noted that the data from May to August 2026 was revised to reflect late reports and corrections from respondents, so some figures from previous months may differ from those originally published.
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