ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, December 12, 1996            TAG: 9612120033
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: B-9  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press

WHOLESALE INFLATION JUMPS IN NOVEMBER

The biggest jump in energy prices in seven months sent wholesale inflation up 0.4 percent in November, a worrisome increase.

Private economists dismissed the 0.4 percent overall increase in the Producer Price Index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach consumers, and looked instead at a much more modest 0.1 percent excluding energy and food.

So far this year, wholesale prices have been rising at an annual rate of 2.6, compared with a 2.2 percent increase in 1995.

However, all of the uptick has occurred because of higher food and energy costs. For November, energy prices shot up 2.3 percent, the biggest one-month gain since April. But analysts said they believed energy costs have peaked and will begin to fall in coming months based on declines in world crude oil prices.

Food costs, which had risen 0.8 percent in October, actually declined in November, edging down a slight 0.1 percent as fruit prices dropped by a huge 17.7 percent.

The 0.1 percent increase in the so-called core rate of inflation came after an 0.3 percent decline in October. Most of the October drop occurred because of a statistical quirk which showed a big fall in car prices.

For November, computer prices fell by 2 percent, the second big monthly decrease, while prices for women's clothing and household appliances also fell.

LENGTH: Short :   38 lines
ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC:  Chart by AP.