The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand climbed by 0.5 percent in December after rising by 0.2 percent in November.

The report also said producer prices in December were up by 3.0 percent compared to the same month a year ago, unchanged from November. The annual rate of growth was expected to slow to 2.7 percent.

The bigger than expected monthly increase in producer prices largely reflected a 0.7 percent advance by prices for services, which marks the fastest growth since July.

Prices for trade services led the way higher, jumping by 1.7 percent, while prices for transportation and warehousing services climbed by 0.5 percent and prices for other services rose by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the report said prices for goods were unchanged, as a 1.4 percent slump in energy prices and a 0.3 percent dip in food prices were offset by a 0.4 percent increase in prices for goods excluding food and energy.

The Labor Department noted that prices for non-ferrous metals spiked by 4.5 percent during the month.

Excluding prices for food, energy and trade services, core producer prices climbed by 0.4 percent in December after rising by 0.2 percent in November.

The annual rate of growth by core producer prices in December came in unchanged from November at 3.5 percent.

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