The Labor Department says the Producer Price Index rose by 0.8 percent last month, down slightly from December's revised 0.9 percent increase. Gas prices jumped 6.9 percent, while food prices moved up only 0.3 percent, less than many economists forecast.
The ``core'' index, which doesn't include food and energy, rose by 0.5 percent, up from 0.2 percent in December.
Pharmaceutical prices jumped by 1.4 percent, the largest rise in nearly three years. Rising costs for plastic products also helped push up the core index.
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