Hotter producer prices strengthen bets on a Fed rate hike

US producer prices rose, increasing rate hike expectations for the Federal Reserve. Traders now price a seventy percent chance of a quarter-point increase next week. Consumer inflation data due Friday will further influence the central bank's decision. Renewed Middle East…

A measure of producer price inflation showed renewed pressure from rising energy prices last month, potentially adding to the case for an interest-rate hike at the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week.