Meat is seen for sale in a supermarket in Alhambra, California on May 12, 2026. Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images Wholesale prices in April posted their highest annual increase in more than three years, signaling more nettlesome inflation as pipeline costs intensify. The producer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.4% for the month, much higher than the 0.5% Dow Jones consensus forecast and the upwardly revised 0.7% March increase, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. This was the largest monthly gain since March 2022. On an annual basis, the index was up 6%, the biggest increase since December 2022. Excluding food and energy, core PPI accelerated 1%, compared to the 0.4% estimate. Excluding food, energy and trade services, PPI rose 0.6 %. Energy was at the root of the unexpectedly high gain in producer prices, as it was for a surge in consumer prices that the BLS reported Tuesday.…