The U.S. Department of Labor reported that wholesale prices unexpectedly jumped 1.3 percent in February.
Economists were expecting a producer price index (PPI)increase of about 0.6 percent.
The department reported increases in the producer price index for energy, which rose 3.5 percent; food, which rose 1.9 percent; and capital equipment, which rose 0.3 percent.
Producer prices excluding food and energy were up 0.4 percent, according to the department, twice the 0.2 percent gain expected for the PPI.
The labor department also reported that first-time jobless claims dropped by 12,000 to 318,000 in February, but continuing claims remained at a one-year high.
