The Federal Reserve's stance during its June meeting and ChairJerome Powell's remarks about needing "more confidence" might have shifted if policymakers had also seen the largest drop in producer inflation in eight months.

In May, the Producer Price Index (PPI) decreased by 0.2% on a monthly basis, marking a significant drop from April's 0.5% growth and missing the expected increase of 0.1%. It marks the lowest monthly PPI print since October 2023.

The decline in the overall index in May was driven by energy prices, which fell by 4.8%, the worst performance since October 2023. Notably, gasoline costs decreased by 7.1%.

However, it...