NEW YORK (PNN) - October 18, 2011 - U.S. producer prices rose more than expected in September to record their largest increase in five months as gasoline prices surged, a government report showed on Tuesday.

The Department of Labor said its seasonally adjusted index for prices received by farms, factories and refineries increased 0.8% after being flat in August. Economists had expected prices to increase 0.2%.

Excluding volatile food and energy, wholesale prices rose 0.2% last month after inching up 0.1% in August. That was above economists’ expectations for a 0.1% gain.

But the strong rise in wholesale prices last month is unlikely to spark a broad increase in inflation pressures, given the weak economic environment.

It will probably have little impact on the Federasl Reserve, which focuses on core inflation, as it weighs options to help get the economy out of the Second Great Depression, and pull down an official unemployment rate stuck above 9% (actual unemployment is about 23%).

Pressure on the U.S. central bank has lessened in recent weeks, as data such as retail sales and the trade balance suggested economic growth accelerated in the third quarter after the second quarter’s tepid 1.3% annual rate.