# Wholesale prices jump 5.4% as diesel spikes

> August producer inflation ran hotter than forecast, and a 24% diesel jump landed days before the Fed decides on rates.
- Title: Wholesale prices jump 5.4% as diesel spikes · Dallas Express
- Summary: August producer inflation ran hotter than forecast, and a 24% diesel jump landed days before the Fed decides on rates. Energy, especially diesel, drove most…
- Keywords: inflation, federal reserve, energy prices, diesel, economy, news, politics, Wholesale, prices, jump, spikes, Dallas Express
- Source: Dallas Express — https://dallasexpress.com/national/u-s-wholesale-prices-up-5-4-from-a-year-ago-as-diesel-surges-24
- Author: Dallas Express
- Published: 2026-09-11T14:00:51+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: inflation, federal reserve, energy prices, diesel, economy, news, politics
## Wholesale inflation runs hot
The Producer Price Index rose 0.4% in August, matching forecasts. Year over year it hit 5.4%, just above the 5.3% economists expected, after a revised 0.1% rise in July.
## Diesel leads the surge
Final-demand energy prices jumped 4.2% in the month. Diesel alone surged 24.1%, doing most of the work behind the August number.

> diesel prices surged 24.1% during the month
## Goods rose, services barely moved
Goods prices climbed 1.1% while services managed only 0.1%. Transportation and warehousing rose 2.3%, the kind of cost that travels down a supply chain into store shelves.
## The increase spread wider
Airfares rose 4.2%. Hospital care and physician services got pricier, and electronic components are under pressure from AI data center demand.
## Core tells a softer story
Strip out food and energy and PPI rose just 0.2%, below the 0.3% expected. Food edged up 0.1% and electric utility prices fell, though core is still 4.6% above a year ago.
## Traders bet on a hike
Futures markets lifted the odds of a quarter-point Fed hike at the September 15-16 meeting to about 70%, up from 62% before the report, per Reuters.
## Next data point is CPI
The August Consumer Price Index lands September 11 and will show whether price pressure is broadening or staying in energy. Crude moved above $100 a barrel on Middle East tensions.
## Key takeaway

Energy, especially diesel, drove most of August's wholesale inflation, and it pushed the odds of a Fed rate hike to about 70%.