Wholesale prices rose more quickly in April than they have in the past seven months, led largely by higher energy costs, including gasoline, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Tuesday.

The 0.9 percent wholesale price increase was reported in the Producer Price Index, which measures the cost of products before they reach retail outlets.

When energy and food products are not included in the measurement, however, the price increase for the remaining products was only 0.1 percent, less than the 0.2 percent increase in March.

In April the PPI listed energy products rising in price by 4 percent, the largest such increase since last October. Such changes have made their way to the gas pump, where many retailers are charging more than $3 per gallon.

The monthly price report showing rising prices comes less than a week after the Federal Reserve increased a key interest rate to guard against inflation.

The Fed noted in that report that further interest rate boosts could take place depending on forthcoming economic data.

Energy Inflation