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Wholesale prices rose slightly (0.3 percent) in July, the increase breaking a four-month plateau, the Labor Department reported Friday. July's producer price index on finished goods - 292.6 - reflected higher costs of pork and beef and lower costs of gasoline and fuel oil.

Even with the rise, the July index has wholesale inflation running only 3.3 percent for the year, department analysts said. Pork prices rose 8.3 percent and beef prices 2.6 percent in July after their previous plummet.