Acute-care hospital PPI inches upward

The acute-care hospital Produce Price Index continued to inch upward for the second-consecutive month, thanks to a 0.3% increase in June, according to preliminary figures released Friday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Overall, the seasonally adjusted PPI, rose 0.8% in June. That's the largest increase since September 2012, when it grew by 1%.

The increase comes after the hospital PPI dropped to record lows in April. For the 12-month period ending in June, the hospital price index grew by 2.4%, a tick above the 2.3% increase for the prior 12-month period.

The physician office index remained flat in June. The index has only increased in one month in 2013, a 0.1% rise in May. For the 12-month period that ended in June, the index for physician offices has grown by 0.2%, the same increase it enjoyed for the previous 12-month period.

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