U.S. November Producer Prices Rise 3.2%; Core Up 0.4% (Bob Willis)

  (Bloomberg) -- Prices paid to U.S. producers climbed at the fastest pace in 34 years in November, pushed up by surging costs for fuel. Excluding food and energy, prices rose the most since February.

  The 3.2 percent gain, twice as much as economists had forecast, follows a 0.1 percent increase in October, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Core prices, which exclude food and energy, jumped 0.4 percent, led by higher costs for light trucks.

  The rising prices highlight the Federal Reserve's concern that energy and commodity costs may feed inflation at the consumer level. The Fed this week cut its benchmark rate for a third time in four months and said it would ``continue to monitor inflation developments.''

  ``Going forward, it's something the Fed is going to have to carefully consider,'' said Ryan Reed, an economist at National City Corp. in Cleveland. ``Obviously, they've been reluctant to cut rates in recent months and this is the reason why.''

more

READ MORE: Bloomberg