U.S. producer prices picked up in October, lifted by higher costs for services like portfolio management and airline fares, more evidence that progress towards lower inflation was stalling. The report from the Labor Department on Thursday followed on the heels of news on Wednesday that consumer inflation had barely budged last month.

Inflation, as measured by the producer price index, rose six tenths of a percentage point to 2.4% for the year ending in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday, a troubling sign that inflation pressures remain strong.