Prices jump higher

[kst$]

Everyone is feeling the pinch at the pump and now food. Its not going to end any time soon and employers are cutting back on jobs and hrs worked so that cuts in to the paychecks of many.

WASHINGTON (AP) -Wholesale prices bolted ahead in May at the fastest pace in six months as energy and food costs marched higher.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its Producer Price Index, which measures the costs of goods before they reach store shelves, shot up 1.4 percent in May. That was up from a modest 0.2 percent rise in April and marked the biggest increase since November.

However, stripping out energy and food prices, which can swing widely from month to month, the "core" rate of inflation rose 0.2 percent in May, an improvement from the prior month's 0.4 percent increase. That suggested that other prices were fairly well behaved.

The overall inflation rate of 1.4 percent was higher than the 1 percent rise many economists were forecasting. But the increase in core prices matched their expectations.

Meanwhile, a report from the Federal Reserve showed that industrial production dipped in May, underscoring the strain on factories from the deep housing slump. Output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities fell 0.2 percent in May, following a 0.7 percent decline in April.

The latest report on manufacturing activity disappointed economists. They were forecasting a tiny 0.1 percent rise in overall production.

In other economic news, the Commerce Department reported that the number of new housing projects started in May fell by 3.3 percent as builders pulled back further given the market's deep slump.

Wholesale prices bolt higher in May

By JEANNINE AVERSA,
I don't no what they expect people to do and how are we going to afford food let alone heating fuel this winter. When are they going to put a stop to these soaring prices.

[moneysense]

It will be so much harder to survive the coming winter, prices have soared for heating oil and a tank of oil that cost $500 to $600 a couple of years ago is now well over $1200 and thats more than the elderly get per month from social security.

How does the government think we are going to survive? I read a lot about soaring prices on food and fuel, but nothing at all about someone trying to step in and do something to help out with the problems at hand.