Food and Gas Producer Prices Rose in May

United States producer prices recorded their biggest increased in more than 2½ years this May.

The Labor Department said Friday that producer prices increased by 0.5 percent. This came after a 0.4 percent decline in April. Gasoline prices rose by 17 percent, though they had been declining last year. Food prices rose by 0.8 percent after five straight months of decline. The culling of millions of chickens in a bird flu epidemic led to a 56.4 percent rise in the wholesale price of eggs.