The Labor Department reported that producer prices rose 0.4% in August, more than the 0.3% analysts expected, the New York Times reported. This was also double the July figure of 0.2%. But when food and energy prices were removed, the core index rose only 0.1%, meaning inflation was in food and energy.

With these numbers, the government no doubt will loudly proclaim that inflation is not a problem. If you multiply 0.3% by 12 (the difference between the overall index and the core index), you get 3.6% -- all of it in food and energy.

Producer prices rose just 0.1% in October, while the core rated registered no increase, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday, with both stats coming in below consensus expectations.

The consensus had called for a 0.3% rise in PPI and a 0.2% rise in core PPI.

The October 2007 statistics were aided by falling energy prices, which fell 0.8%, including a 3.1% drop in gasoline prices and a 2.5% drop in heating-oil prices, the Labor Department said.

"All-in-all, it's a pretty good PPI report," economist M. David Chandler told bloggingstocks. "Of course, the October statistics don't reflect the delayed pass-through of higher gasoline prices and heating oil prices, which will probably show up in the November, but that still doesn't blot-out the fact that overall PPI costs were mostly contained in October."

However, on a 12-month basis, PPI is up 6.1%, while core PPI is up 2.5%. Both statistics exceed most economists' ceiling for reasonable PPI inflation in a growing economy.

"We still have above-average PPI on a 12-month basis, and I don't doubt that the Federal Reserve is watching this, particularly the core PPI," Chandler said.