Fuel costs drive US prices higher

Surging fuel prices pushed US wholesale prices higher in March, after falling a month earlier, official figures show.

The Labor Department’s producer price index (PPI) jumped 0.5% in March, its fastest rise in three months.

But core producer prices, which strip out volatile energy and food prices, rose by 0.1% – its smallest increase in four months.

A 9.1% surge in gasoline (petrol) prices was the main driver of the increase, the department added.