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The war with Iran is squeezing US businesses at a rate not seen in nearly four years, and it’s likely to cause them to raise prices for consumers even more.

The Producer Price Index, a measure of wholesale inflation, increased in April to 6% on an annual basis from 4% in March, well exceeding economists’ expectations. On a monthly basis, the index increased 1.4%, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s twice the pace that economists expected.

A 15.6% increase in gas prices accounted for 40% of the increase in prices businesses paid last month.

Even when excluding the volatile categories of food and energy, core PPI rose 1% for the month, pushing the annual rate to 5.2%.

Wednesday’s report does not guarantee consumers will see prices rise at the same rates that businesses are experiencing.…