December 13, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

PPI increases in November 2004

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 0.5 percent in November, seasonally adjusted. This increase followed a 1.7-percent gain in October and a 0.1-percent rise in September.

[Chart data—TXT]

Among finished goods, the rate of increase in the index for finished energy goods slowed from 6.8 percent in October to 1.8 percent in November. Prices for finished consumer foods moved up 0.4 percent, following a 1.6-percent gain in the preceding month. The index for finished goods other than foods and energy increased 0.2 percent in November, following a 0.3-percent rise in the prior month.

From November 2003 to November 2004, prices for finished goods increased 5.0 percent, as shown on the chart above. Over the same period, the finished energy goods index rose 19.8 percent, prices for finished goods other than foods and energy went up 1.9 percent, and the index for finished consumer foods advanced 2.9 percent. 

These data are from the BLS Producer Price Index program. For more information, see "Producer Price Indexes -- November 2004" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-2464. 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.