January 18, 2007 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Producer prices in December 2006

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 0.9 percent in December, seasonally adjusted. This rise followed a 2.0-percent advance in November and a 1.6-percent decline in October.

[Chart data—TXT]

The index for finished energy goods rose 2.5 percent in December following a 6.1-percent jump in the prior month. Leading this deceleration, gasoline prices increased 7.1 percent after surging 17.9 percent in November.

The index for finished goods other than foods and energy advanced 0.2 percent in December following a 1.3-percent jump in the preceding month. The index for finished consumer foods increased 1.7 percent in December after inching up 0.1 percent in the previous month. 

From December 2005 to December 2006, prices for finished goods advanced 1.1 percent, as shown in the chart. This followed a 5.4-percent rise in 2005.

This slower rate of advance in 2006 is attributable to the index for finished energy goods, which fell 2.0 percent in 2006 after climbing 23.9 percent a year earlier. By contrast, prices for finished goods other than foods and energy moved up 2.0 percent in 2006 following a 1.4-percent gain in 2005, and the index for finished consumer foods rose slightly more than it had a year earlier.

These data are from the BLS Producer Price Index program. To learn more, see "Producer Price Indexes — December 2006," news release USDL 07-0073. All producer price indexes are routinely subject to revision once, 4 months after original publication, to reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents.