June 16, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Producer prices decline again in May

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods declined 0.3 percent in May, seasonally adjusted. This decrease followed a record decline of 1.9 percent in April.

[Chart data—TXT]

The index for finished energy goods fell 2.6 percent in May, after declining 8.6 percent in April. Prices for finished goods other than foods and energy inched up 0.1 percent in May, compared with a 0.9-percent decrease in April. By contrast, the index for finished consumer foods rose only 0.1 percent in May, following a 0.9-percent increase in April.

Cigarette prices increased 0.2 percent, after falling 9.6 percent in the previous month. The indexes for light motor trucks, passenger cars, newspaper circulation, and compact discs also turned up in May. 

From May 2002 to May 2003, prices for finished goods rose 2.5 percent.

These data are from the BLS Producer Price Index program. Find out more in "Producer Price Indexes, May 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 03–299. 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.