WASHINGTON — Wholesale prices in the United States rose 7.4% in November from a year earlier, a fifth straight slowdown and a hopeful sign that inflation pressures across the economy are continuing to cool.

The latest year-over-year figure was down from 8% in October and from a recent peak of 11.7% in March. On a monthly basis, the government said Friday that its producer price index, which measures costs before they reach consumers, rose 0.3% from October to November for the third straight month.

Still, a measure of “core” producer prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, accelerated, rising 0.4% from October to November. The core figure had risen just 0.1% from September to October. Looked at over the past 12 months, though, core producer prices were up 6.2% in November, less than the 6.7% in October.

The latest figures reflect an ongoing shift in inflation from goods to services. The cost of goods rose just 0.1% from October to November, with wholesale gas prices tumbling 6%. (Food prices were an exception: They jumped 3.3% last month, fueled by costlier vegetables, eggs and chicken.)

By contrast, services prices rose more, up 0.4%, led mostly by more expensive financial services. The wholesale cost of airfares and hotel rooms both fell, though, and overall services prices have slowed in the past three months.

“Overall inflation is moving in the right direction, though at a slow pace,” PNC Financial Services Group said in a research note. “The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy tightening plans will remain aggressive until clear, consistent signs of inflation’s demise have been demonstrated.”

Rising prices are still straining Americans’ finances, particularly for food, rent and services such as medical care and restaurant meals.

Yet gas prices have tumbled after topping out at $5 a gallon in June. Nationally, they averaged $3.32 a gallon Friday, according to AAA, just below their average from a year ago.