Wholesale prices posted an unexpected decline

The latest wholesale inflation numbers came out today.

The Producer Price Index for February is down 0.1 percent, which came in softer than what analysts were expecting and could signal wholesale inflation is easing.

Overall, prices are 4.6 percent higher than a year ago. Food prices were up 1.8 percent, while energy costs increased 5.4 percent.

These are prices before they are passed on to the consumer.