U.S. wholesale prices fell 0.3% in June, the biggest decline in a year, the Labor Department reported today.

The drop came as energy and food costs retreated, the department said.

The unexpected over-the-month drop in the producer price index, which measures the prices of goods before they reach store shelves, comes after wholesale costs shot up in the prior two months.

Wholesale prices rose by 0.7% in April and by 0.8% in May.

The latest reading on the PPI surprised economists, who were forecasting a 0.2% rise in wholesale prices in June.

Meanwhile, U.S. initial jobless claims jumped last week by a seasonally adjusted 40,000 to 349,000, the Labor Department said in a separate release. In the prior week, claims plunged by 40,000.