US: Annual PPI climbs to 7.3% in June vs. 6.8% expected

• Annual PPI in US rose at a stronger pace than expected in June.
• US Dollar Index drops into the negative territory below 92.50.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) in the US for final demand rose to 7.3% on a yearly basis in June from 6.6% in May, the data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Wednesday. This reading beat the market expectation of 6.8% by a wide margin. On a monthly basis, the PPI increased to 1% from 0.8%.

Further details of the publication revealed that the annual Core PPI advanced to 5.6% from 4.8% in May, surpassing analysts' estimate of 5.1%.

Market reaction

Despite the stronger-than-expected PPI readings, the greenback is suffering losses against its rivals amid the dovish tone seen in FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell's prepared remarks for delivery at the congressional hearing. As of writing, the US Dollar Index was down 0.38% on the day at 92.42.