1. The Producer Price Index in the US at its 10-year High
2. 1.3 billion Euro Deal Between Ukraine and France
3. Colonial Pipeline Pays Hackers 5 million Dollars

The Producer Price Index in the US at its 10-year High

Following a 13-year high in consumer inflation in the US, the annual increase in producer prices also reached a 10-year high.

The producer price index in the USA increased by 6.2% in April compared to the same period of the previous year and reached the highest level in almost ten years.

Economists who participated in the Bloomberg survey expected that the annual increase in producer prices would be 5.8%.

Monthly, the increase in producer prices was 0.6%. Economists had predicted the monthly growth to be 0.3%.

It was observed that core indicators were realized above the expectations of economists. The producer price index excluding energy and food increased by 0.7% against the expectation of 0.4%. The annual increase in the producer price index excluding energy and food was 4.1%. Economists’ expectation was set at 3.8% for this figure.

The consumer price index announced on Wednesday also caused inflationary concerns to increase in the country.

In the US, consumer prices rose by 4.2% on an annual basis in April. Thus, consumer inflation in the country reached the highest level since 2008.

On Thursday, the dollar remained steady near week highs after the US Labor Department announced higher producer prices in April, adding to signs that US inflation is on the rise.

1.3 billion Euro Deal Between Ukraine and France

According to the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyiv’s press service, the Ukrainian and French governments have signed four framework agreements worth over 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion).

These documents were signed during the visit of France’s Minister of Economy, Finance, and Reconstruction, Bruno Le Maire, to Ukraine on May 13.

According to reports, Ukraine and France signed agreements, including for the supply of electric locomotives, the improvement of water supply in the Luhansk area, and the quality of drinking water in Kyiv.

“I am glad that everything we agreed with President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron is not just words. Professional people managed to bring it all from words to serious deals. All four of these agreements are very relevant,” Zelensky said in a video call after the signing of the documents.

The president noted the importance of concluding agreements to improve the quality of water supply in Ukraine. “I am thrilled that we are solving this issue not only at the local level but also at the state level. Big money will be invested. This is important both for the Luhansk region and the capital of Ukraine,” he said.

Zelensky also stressed the significance of agreeing on renewing the fleet of railway locomotives. “It is crucial for Ukraine that the level of localization of production will be 35%. That is, there will be both equipment upgrade and increase in the number of jobs,” he stated.

Colonial Pipeline Pays Hackers 5 million Dollars

Bloomberg’s report, based on anonymous sources, reported that the Colonial Pipeline company, which operates the pipeline, paid around $5 million to Eastern European hackers to reactivate the Colonial Pipeline, one of the largest oil pipelines in the US, which was temporarily closed due to cyber attack.

The report stated that the payment was made using a cryptocurrency that could not be tracked hours after the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline.

The report pointed out that the hackers provided a decryption tool to rebuild the computer network that was disabled after receiving the payment. Still, it was stated that the company preferred to use its backup systems due to the slowness of the tool.

A representative from Colonial declined to comment. Colonial said it began to resume fuel shipments around 5 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday.

When Bloomberg News asked President Joe Biden if he was briefed on the company’s ransom payment, the president paused, then said: “I have no comment on that.”

The hackers, which the FBI said are linked to a group called DarkSide, specialize in digital extortion and are believed to be located in Russia or Eastern Europe.

President Joe Biden said Monday that US intelligence believes DarkSide is operating inside Russia’s borders and that although it doesn’t appear to be controlled by the Russian government, he is “going to have a discussion” about such groups with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said, “They have some responsibility to deal with this.”