U.S. producer prices slid 0.4 percent in July

WASHINGTON -- U.S. producer prices last month registered the biggest drop since September, pulled down by tumbling energy and food prices.

The Labor Department says producer prices slid 0.4 percent in July, first decline since March and biggest drop since a 0.5 percent fall last September. Over the past year, producer prices are down 0.2 percent. Energy prices fell 1 percent and food prices 1.1 percent in July from June. Corn prices plummeted 22.2 percent, biggest drop since September 1996.

Even excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core producer prices dropped 0.3 percent, biggest decline since February 2015. Since July 2015, core producer prices are up 0.7 percent.