**US producer prices - the wholesale price of goods leaving the factory gate - fell by more than expected in February, official figures have shown.**The seasonally adjusted index for producer prices fell 0.6% in February, the biggest fall since July.
The fall was attributed by the US Labor Department to a 2.9% drop in energy costs.
Analysts said the figures indicated that there were few inflationary pressures in the economy.
Stripping out energy and food costs, core producer prices rose by 0.1% n February.
The 2.9% drop in energy costs represent a sharp reversal from January, when energy costs jumped by 5.1%. Gasoline prices dropped 7.4% after an 11.5% rise in January. Food prices rose 0.4% after rising by the same margin in January.
The figures come a day after the US Federal Reserve renewed its promise to hold benchmark interest rates exceptionally low for an extended period. It kept its main interest rate in a range of zero to 0.25%.