Wholesale prices in the US cooled in July, offering a welcome sign that inflation may be losing some momentum as lower energy costs helped ease price pressures. Data released by the labor department showed that the producer price index (PPI), which tracks prices received by producers before they reach consumers, increased 4.7% from a year earlier in July. That marked a decline from the 5.5% annual rise recorded in June. Compared with the previous month, vholesale prices were flat, following a 0.1% fall in June.