US producer prices fell by the most since 2009 in April, leading to the largest annual decline in nearly 4-1/2 years, bolstering some economists' predictions for a brief period of deflation as the novel coronavirus depresses demand.
The report from the Labor Department on Wednesday followed data on Tuesday showing consumer prices dropping by the most since the 2007-09 Great Recession, and a measure of underlying inflation posting a record decline.
The producer price index for final demand tumbled 1.3% last month, the biggest decline since the series was revamped in December 2009, after slipping 0.2% in March. In the 12 months through April, the PPI decreased 1.2%. That was the biggest drop since November 2015 and followed a 0.7% increase in March.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI falling 0.5% in April and declining 0.2% on a year-on-year basis.
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