The report on producer prices adds to a mixed picture for inflation as the economy adjusts to the imposition of import tariffs.

Factory-gate prices held steady in June, surprising economists. The producer-price index was flat last month, the Labor Department said, missing forecasts for a 0.2% rise. The index rose by a revised 0.

Critics of President Trump's tariff policies have been waiting for the import taxes to raise the inflation rate. That effect may be beginning.