New York —

This week, we got two closely watched inflation reports: One on Tuesday that seemed fine- ish , and one Thursday that made everyone sit up straight and take notice.

If you’re just clocking the headlines, it might seem like prices are both flat and surging?

The reality is that consumer inflation (the kind regular schmoes like us feel) was pretty mild. Certain items are getting more expensive, like housing and meat, while others, like gasoline, have fallen.

But wholesale inflation (the kind businesses feel when making the stuff we buy), is another story.

On Thursday, the Producer Price Index, which tracks what businesses are shelling out for raw materials every month, came in hot — up 3.3% year over year in July. That is the fastest pace since June 2022, the pea

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