U.S. inflation at the wholesale level dropped by the largest amount in nearly three years in February, as prices for food and energy products, including gasoline, fell sharply.

The U.S. Labor Department said today that its producer-price index for finished goods fell 1.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis last month after rising 0.3% in January. A sharp 11% drop in gasoline prices led the decline, which was the deepest since a similar 1.4% fall in April 2003. Food prices declined 2.7%.

Even with the big month-over-month drop, producer prices were 3.7% higher than a year ago.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, “core” wholesale prices rose 0.3%, slower than the 0.4% advance posted in January. Price gains reached across sectors, with prescription-drug prices rising 0.7% and construction machinery and equipment prices climbing 1.4%. Light-truck prices rose 0.5%, though car prices slid 0.8%.

Deeper in the production pipeline, raw materials prices dropped by 9.2% in February. Intermediate goods prices decreased 0.3%.