CNBC Daily Open: U.S. producer prices are flat — but they don’t factor in imports

Published On:
  • Trump denies that he plans to fire Fed Chair Powell.
  • U.S. stocks rise in a rocky day of trading.
  • Wholesale prices in the U.S. were unchanged in June.
  • Crypto bills stumble in Congress.
  • Ether is starting to outperform bitcoin.

No one likes being the person who goes “but actually…”. Sometimes, however, it is necessary.

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The U.S. producer price index in June was flat, meaning that wholesale prices remained stagnant from May to June. This might suggest that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are hitting the economy less than feared, in contrast to what the

uptick in June’s consumer price index

suggested.

But actually, the PPI measures prices at the level of the manufacturer — which is located in America. In other words, the index “does not include imports, because imports are by definition not produced by domestic firms,”

according

to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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By contrast, the CPI considers all goods and services that the consumer purchases, regardless of their country of origin. As the BLS elaborates, “imports compose a substantial portion of the CPI especially within the apparel and new-cars component.” While new


vehicle prices fell 0.3% in June,

those of apparel rose 0.4%,

suggesting that the effects of tariffs are starting to show in some components of the CPI.

But actually, we might not know the full effect of the tariffs until after Aug. 1 when the updated tariffs kick in — provided Trump keeps to the deadline this time.

Money Report

Japan’s exports fall for second straight month with no U.S. trade deal in sight, raising recession fears

Shares in Japan’s Seven & i plunge 7% after Couche-Tard withdraws $47 billion takeover bid


Trump denies that he plans to fire Jerome Powell.

Hours after Trump told Republican lawmakers he will

fire the Federal Reserve Chair

, according to a source, the U.S. president said he’s “not planning on doing it” and it’s

“highly unlikely.”


U.S. stocks rise in a rocky day of trading.

Major U.S. indexes fell Wednesday on Trump’s reported plans to fire Powell, but

rebounded sharply

after he denied them.


The

Stoxx Europe 600

retreated 0.57%

, dragged down by a

slump

in

ASML

shares.


Wholesale prices in the U.S. were unchanged in June.

The

producer price index was flat

for the month, compared with the Dow Jones consensus estimate of a 0.2% increase. On an annual basis, headline PPI was up 2.3%, the lowest since September 2024.


Crypto bills stumble in Congress.

As of 5:30 p.m. ET, more than half a dozen

Republicans had voted with all Democrats

against letting two of the bills, which involve the

regulation of cryptocurrency

, proceed in their current forms.


[PRO] Ether is starting to outperform bitcoin.

Since its April low,

ether

has shot up over 130%, more than two times the 60% jump in

bitcoin

over the same period. ETH has also broken out of a technical pattern,

implying it could have a double-digit upside

.


The world’s top fintech companies: 2025

Fintech is flourishing as emerging technologies from artificial intelligence to crypto take the financial world by storm — even as the industry continues to navigate an environment of reduced funding.

Against this backdrop, CNBC and Statista have named the top 300 fintech companies globally.


— Ryan Browne

Also on CNBC

  • Inflation in the U.S. hit a four-month high in June — as expected

  • U.S. inflation meets expectations, but that’s not necessarily good

  • It’s refreshing to see tariffs used as a weapon for peace

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