Wholesale prices rise for 7th straight month

WASHINGTON - Wholesale prices rose sharply in January due to higher costs for gas, pharmaceuticals and other goods. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, wholesale prices rose by the most since October 2008.

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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