Wholesale prices up Rise in gas prices fuels 0.2% jump

WASHINGTON Inflation at the wholesale level edged up 0.2 percentin November, pushed by the biggest jump in natural gas prices in twoyears. Outside of energy, prices were well-behaved, economists said.

The advance Friday in the Labor Department's Producer Price Index,which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer,followed a 0.1 percent decline for October.

"Aside from energy, prices for everything else look tame," saidDonald Ratajczak, director of Georgia State University's economicforecasting project. "This report should calm any fears aboutinflation."

So far this year, wholesale prices have been rising at an annualrate of 2.9 percent, …