By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Prices at the wholesale level in December rose 0.2%, largely due to a sharp jump in food costs, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Core producer prices, excluding volatile food and energy costs, were unchanged. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected a decline of 0.1% in overall PPI and a 0.1% increase in the core rate. The increase in producer prices moderately significantly from a 1.8% gain in November as energy costs eased.
