U.S. wholesale prices fall 0.2 percent

Washington -- U.S. wholesale prices fell 0.2 percent in June, the first drop in six months, on lower food and energy prices, the U.S. Labor Department reported Tuesday.

The decline -- the first since January's 0.6 percent dip -- followed an unrevised 0.9 percent gain in May, the department said.

But the core producer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy, was up 0.3 percent after May's 0.2 percent rise, the department said. The June increase in the core index was the biggest one-month jump since February.

Energy prices fell 1.1 percent, after May's 4.1 percent increase, with gasoline dropping 3.9 percent.

Food prices fell 0.8 percent, the biggest decrease since May 2006.

Passenger-car wholesale prices rose 1.4 percent, the biggest increase since November 2006. Computer prices went down 3.4 percent.

In the 12 months through June, wholesale prices rose 3.3 percent, with the core index up 1.8 percent from a year earlier.

The government planned to release June consumer price figures Wednesday.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.