US December PPI falls for 5th straight month

WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. producer prices fell for a fifth straight month in December, partly on a record drop in gasoline prices, government data showed on Thursday, indicating that inflation pressures were likely to stay muted for a while.

The Labor Department said the producer price index fell 1.9 percent in December after dropping 2.2 percent the previous month.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 2 percent decline in the overall index. Compared to the same period last year, the producer price index fell 0.9 percent, the lowest reading since October 2006, when the index decreased by 1.2 percent.

Core producer prices excluding food and energy costs increased by 0.2 percent in December, slightly above market expectations for a rise of 0.1 percent. Core PPI rose 0.1 percent in November.

Core producer prices were up 4.3 percent over the last 12 months, the highest since October's reading of 4.4 percent.

Energy prices dropped 9.3 percent in December, falling for the fifth straight month, while gasoline prices plunged 25.7 percent, matching the record drop set the previous month. Gasoline accounts for about 7.4 percent of PPI. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Neil Stempleman)