U.S. producer prices rise marginally in April

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - U.S. producer prices barely rose in April after strong gains in the first quarter, held down by a moderation in the cost of both goods and services, which could ease fears that inflation pressures were rapidly building up.

The Labor Department said on Wednesday its producer price index for final demand edged up 0.1 percent last month after increasing 0.3 percent in March. That lowered the year-on-year increase in the PPI to 2.6 percent from 3.0 percent in March.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI gaining 0.2 percent last month and rising 2.8 percent from a year ago.

A key gauge of underlying producer price pressures that excludes food, energy and trade services also nudged up 0.1 percent last month. The so-called core PPI had increased by 0.4 percent in each of the past three months.

In the 12 months through April, the core PPI rose 2.5 percent after jumping 2.9 percent in March.

Last month's slowdown in wholesale price growth is likely temporary as manufacturers have been reporting paying more for raw materials. Inflation is flirting with the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target.

The U.S. central bank's preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy, increased 1.9 percent year-on-year in March and is expected to breach its target in the coming months. This comes as last year's big declines in prices of cell phone service plans drop out of the calculation.

In April, the price of services ticked up 0.1 percent. That followed two straight monthly increases of 0.3 percent. Services were restrained by a 3.2 percent drop in the cost of hotel accommodation. The cost of healthcare services fell 0.2 percent after increasing 0.3 percent in March. Those costs feed into the core PCE price index.

Prices for goods were unchanged last month after rising 0.3 percent in March. Wholesale food prices declined 1.1 percent last month after surging 2.2 percent in March. Gasoline prices fell 0.4 percent in April after dropping 3.7 percent in the prior month.