Stable Wholesale Prices Ease Inflation Worries : Economy: Analysts are encouraged as March index rises only 0.2%. Markets are unaffected.

Steady energy costs helped offset a rise in food prices as wholesale price inflation was in check in March, the government said Tuesday.

The report eased inflation worries just one day before a much-anticipated report on consumer prices, and financial markets--which have been shaken recently by expectations of rising inflation and interest rates--were stable.

Wholesale prices rose 0.2% last month, and for the first quarter of 1994 they were up at an annual rate of 3.9%, the Labor Department said. For all of last year, they were up only 0.2%. The index measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer. The Labor Department is due to announce today the consumer price index for March; most analysts predict a modest increase.

Economists said that even though some commodity prices rose--with storms and icy weather driving fruit and vegetable prices higher--the overall picture is tranquil.

“I’m trying to worry. But I can’t find much to worry about,” said Ron Schreibman of the National Assn. of Wholesaler Distributors. “Inflation is the rhinoceros in the room that everyone fears but no one can locate.”

Bruce Steinberg of Merrill Lynch & Co. said inflation will continue to be tame as long as labor costs remain low.

The Clinton Administration hailed the report as further evidence that inflation is under control.

“We just don’t see a scenario under which inflation rises meaningfully from present levels,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman said.

The government’s producer price index had jumped 0.5% in February, the largest increase in 10 months, because of surging heating costs. March’s increase matched January’s 0.2% advance.

Energy prices, which soared 2.8% in February as Americans turned up their thermostats to ward off winter’s chill, were level in March as spring arrived.

Gasoline prices declined 1.8% and heating oil was down 0.7%. But gas for home heating increased 1.9%, breaking the previous record of 1.5% set in June, 1993, and October, 1992.

Food prices, down 0.4% in February, shot up 0.5% last month.

Producer Price Index

For finished goods; seasonally adjusted change from prior month: March, 1994: +0.2%

Source: Labor Department