The producer price index, a gauge of ex-factory prices, rose 6.8% in April from a year earlier, higher than March's 5.9% rise and above the poll's median forecast of a 6.5% rise.
The rate of consumer price inflation continued to drop to 4.6 per cent, from 4.9 per cent, while factory-gate inflation also moderated from 10.1 per cent in August to 9.1 per cent.