Wholesale inflation reached 10% in the U.S. during the last year as companies continue to struggle with higher production costs that are driving up prices for final-demand goods.

On Tuesday, the Labor Department shared its most recent Producer Price Index (PPI) data, which measures final-demand goods and services, and found that it rose by 0.8% in February, down from the 1% increase seen in January and in line with forecaster predictions.

This rise was driven by the increasing prices of final-demand goods, which rose 2.4% when volatile food and energy prices were excluded. According to the Labor Department, this is the highest increase recorded since it first began collecting data on this category in December 2009.

Nearly 40% of the increase recorded in final-demand goods can be attributed to a hike in gasoline prices, which grew 14.8% in the last month. The impact of Russia's war in Ukraine was not explicitly mentioned, but both the American Automobile Association (AAA) and President Joe Biden in recent weeks acknowledged how it has driven up gas prices by almost a dollar per gallon.

The latest PPI reading follows recent consumer price index data that similarly showed an inflation rise in the last month. According to the most recent data, the CPI grew by 7.9% in February largely due to rising energy prices that pushed it to a four-decade high.

These numbers are certain to raise pressure on the Federal Reserve as it moves closer to executing a decision to raise interest rates on Wednesday following a meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the war in Ukraine was doing little to influence the central bank’s desire to raise rates. However, Powell has signaled that his approach to rate increases will err on the side of caution despite demands from some colleagues to be bolder.

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