Wholesale prices rise 1.6 pct. due to biggest jump in food costs in more than 36 years

``Higher energy costs and the steepest rise in food prices in nearly four decades drove U.S. wholesale prices up last month by the most in nearly two years. Excluding those categories, inflation was tame. The Producer Price Index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.6 per cent in February, the Labor Department said Wednesday. That's double the rise from the previous month and the biggest increase since June 2009.''