NEW YORK/LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) – The dollar and Wall Street stocks traded little changed on Friday after data on U.S. producer prices drove conflicting reactions, stirring hope that inflation is moderating while also raising fears the Federal Reserve will need to keep interest rates higher for longer.
The producer price index (PPI) for final demand rose 0.3% last month and increased 7.4% in the 12 months through November, while the PPI for October was revised up to 0.3% from 0.2% as previously reported, the U.S. Labor Department said.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast monthly PPI climbing 0.2% and rising 7.2% year-on-year.
While the data showed a moderating pace of inflation for the last 12 months, the monthly rise fueled concerns that next week’s report on the consumer price index may indicate hotter-than-expected inflation and lead the Fed to not cut rates as soon as many…
