Wednesday brought the Biden White House inauspicious news as the nation hurtles toward mid-term elections. The Producer Price Index (PPI) came in at 0.2% higher than Biden’s big-brain thinkers had estimated. This was all very unexpected.

CNN —

A key measure of inflation increased faster than expected in September, raising concerns that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes are having limited impact in bringing inflation under control.

The US Producer Price Index, which tracks what America’s producers get paid for their goods and services, rose at an annual pace of 8.5% in September, down slightly from the 8.7% rise in August, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. But the report showed prices rose 0.4% month over month.

CNBC —

Wholesale prices rose more than expected in September despite Federal Reserve efforts to control inflation, according to a report Wednesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The producer price index, a measure of prices that U.S. businesses get for the goods and services they produce, increased 0.4% for the month, compared with the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.2% gain. On a 12-month basis, PPI rose 8.5%, which was a slight deceleration from the 8.7% in August.

Excluding food, energy and trade services, the index increased 0.4% for the month and 5.6% from a year ago, the latter matching the August increase.

Fox News —

Inflation at the wholesale level rose more than expected in September as prices for everyday necessities remain at a multi-decade high, squeezing businesses and millions of American households.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that its producer price index, which measures inflation at the wholesale level before it reaches consumers, rose 0.4% in September from the previous month. On an annual basis, prices soared 8.5%. That is down from the 8.7% recorded in August and marks the lowest reading since July 2021.

As a friend of mine ends his emails:

UNEXPECTEDLY: ADV. FREQUENTLY USED BY PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING, TO DESCRIBE UNPLEASANT EVENTS OR SITUATIONS THEY HAVE CREATED. EX:. “GERMANY UNIXPECTEDLY EXPERIENCING SEVERE ENERGY SHORTAGES AFTER SHUTTING DOWN NUCLEAR, COAL AND GAS FIRED POWER PLANTS AND SPENDING MILLIONS ON WIND AND SOLAR POWER ”

The PPI measures changes in prices that suppliers are charging their business customers. This index gives a solid indication of what the Consumer Price Index will look like. According to the Wall Street Journal, the PPI “rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% last month compared with a revised 0.2% decrease in August, the Labor Department said on Wednesday. Higher food prices and home-heating costs drove the increase.”

I’m sure the Biden bunch will hoot that the rate of increase is down from the epic 11.3% in June. This will be cold comfort as Americans continue to see inflation in the 9% range outstrip 5% wage growth resulting in a net pay cut.

The problem facing the clown conclave that Biden’s puppeteers have put in charge of the government is that, in aviation parlance, they are “out of altitude, out of airspeed, and out of ideas.” They have created a perfect storm by instituting profoundly stupid policies that have doubled gasoline prices, nearly tripled the retail price of some staple foods, boosted the 30-year mortgage rate from below 3% to almost 8%, and increased the cost of used cars by about 40%. These are direct attacks on the middle class and working class. As the polling continues to show, voters are unlikely to forget this before election day; see Evidence Mounts That the House of Representatives Is a Lost Cause for Democrats.