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<\/p>\nThe Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand increased 1.0 percent in March according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n
That is significantly more than the 0.5% expected by analyst with it jumping on an unadjusted basis by 4.2 percent for the 12 months ended in March, making it the largest increase since September 2011.<\/p>\n
60% of the increase is due to to a 1.7% rise in prices for final demand goods with services up 0.7%.<\/p>\n
For just goods, the 1.7% increase is “the largest increase since the index began in December 2009,” the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.<\/p>\n
Much of this rise is due to a 5.9% jump in prices for energy, with gasoline prices up 8.8%.<\/p>\n
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This higher than expect rise in prices is likely to increase concerns about inflation following mass money printing especially in the United States.<\/p>\n
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Thursday he wouldn’t panic if inflation reached 4%, double the previous target of 2%.<\/p>\n
Last year Fed announced a new policy of targeting inflation above 2% for some time due to it being below this target for a considerable time.<\/p>\n
Kashkari said that means Fed won’t \u201cshortcut the recovery,\u201d suggesting we should expect an upcoming period of higher inflation that may even reach 4%.<\/p>\n
This expected higher inflation could partially explain bitcoin’s rise due to its finite monetary supply, with the currency asset currently eyeing a break of $60,000. <\/p>\n