Inflation slowed through much of last year – falling as low as 2.4% from a 40-year high of 9.1% in mid-2022 – but it has remained stubbornly high since fall. The cost of services such as car insurance, auto repairs and health care have continued to rise in part because of the delayed effects of pandemic-related vehicle shortages or wage increases.

America’s inflation headache isn’t going away soon, as a report on wholesale prices released Thursday showed them rising in January by 0.4%, more than expected. For the year, the producer price index increased by 3.

The core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, ticked up 0.3% in January, matching expectations and down from an updated 0.4% rise in December. The subindex was up 3.6% from

A huge source of the PPI increase comes from final demand goods, representing roughly one-third of January’s increase. Fueling this was diesel jumping 10.4% and rising prices for chicken eggs. Chicken egg prices are increasing as farmers kill off flocks to hamper the spread of the avian flu.