Two economic reports released today are giving mixed signals on the strength of U.S. inflation.

U.S. wholesale prices registered the biggest decline in more than two years as energy prices tumbled in May. However, the core index, which excludes food and energy items, rose 0.1%.

The producer-price index for finished goods fell 0.6%, fully reversing the previous month’s increase, the Labor Department said today. The drop mostly reflected a slump in energy prices.

Economists had expected the PPI to decline by 0.2% in May, with core nonfood, nonenergy prices up 0.2%.

In year-on-year terms, the producer-price index was up 3.5% in May, down from a 4.8% rate in the year through April.

Separately, U.S. retail sales decreased a seasonally adjusted 0.5%, after advancing 1.5% in April, the Commerce Department said today. April sales were originally seen rising 1.4%. March sales rose 0.3%, revised down from a previously reported 0.4% increase.

Economists had expected a 0.2% decline in total retail sales, but a modest 0.2% increase when auto sales are excluded.

Here at home, manufacturers reported another gain in unfilled orders in April, the third in four months.

Statistics Canada said that across the board, shipments of goods have essentially plateaued since October of 2004.

Big ticket, durable goods industries contributed to a 1.1% gain in unfilled orders to $39.5 billion in April, after a 1.8% rise in March.

Overall, manufacturing shipments rose by 0.9 per cent to $50.2 billion, partly recovering losses in February and March.

On Monday, Toronto stocks ended higher on the strength of a strong resource sector, particularly surging gold prices. The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 49.85, or 0.51%, to close at 9,839.94, with volume of 213 million shares.

Light crude for July delivery moved up $2.08 to end at US$55.62 a barrel ahead of this week’s OPEC meeting.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 10.94, or 0.66%, to close at 1,675.70.

In New York, markets closed marginally higher as investors hoped economic data coming out this week will influence the U.S. Federal Reserve to end its run of interest rate hikes.

The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average finished up 9.93, or 0.09%, to 10,522.56, the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 5.96, or 0.29%, to close at 2,068.96, and the broad based S&P 500 ticked up 2.71, or 0.23%, to 1,200.82.