Separate figures from the US have shown a surprise drop in retail sales last month, while higher energy costs pushed producer prices up by 0.7%, slightly more than expected.
But excluding volatile food and energy costs, prices paid at the factory gate were unchanged, a Labor Department report showed.
Overall producer prices rose 3.2% from the same month a year ago, while core producer prices gained 1.5% from April 2006. Energy prices gained 3.4% in the month, while food prices rose 0.4%. Producer prices are a measure of prices before they reach the consumer.
Meanwhile the Commerce Department said US retail sales fell an unexpected 0.2% last month. Most analysts had been expecting April retail sales to rise 0.4%. The drop in sales was the steepest since September last year.
Stripping out car sales from the April report, retail sales were unchanged, also weaker than forecasts.
