Wholesale Prices Dip As Energy Costs Fall

The fifth straight decline in energy costs helped push wholesale prices lower in October, and another report suggested modest economic growth.

The Labor Department reported Thursday its Producer Price Index fell 0.1 percent, the third drop in five months. Although the decline was led by energy prices, it was broadbased.

In the second report, the department said the number of new claims for jobless benefits shot up by 9,000 last week to the highest level since the summer.

New applications for unemployment insurance totaled a seasonally adjusted 375,000, highest since they totaled 416,000 during the week ended July 15.

For the year so far, wholesale prices were up at an annual rate of just 1.4 percent, compared with a 1.7 percent advance in 1994.

The department said food prices held steady in October as vegetable costs fell 19.1 percent. Energy prices dropped 0.9 percent.