October 18, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Producer prices in September 2004

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 0.1 percent in September, seasonally adjusted.

[Chart data—TXT]

Among finished goods, prices for goods other than foods and energy turned up 0.3 percent in September 2004, following a decline of 0.1 percent in the prior month, while the consumer foods index rose 0.1 percent in September, after falling 0.2 percent in August. By contrast, the index for finished energy goods turned down 0.9 percent, compared with a 0.2-percent increase in August.

During the third quarter of 2004, the finished goods index increased at a 0.3-percent seasonally adjusted annual rate, after rising at a 4.7-percent rate during the second quarter of 2004. The index for finished goods other than foods and energy climbed at a 1.1-percent seasonally adjusted annual rate during the third quarter of 2004, compared with a 2.9-percent seasonally adjusted annual rate of increase during the second quarter.

From September 2003 to September 2004, the finished goods index rose 3.3 percent, as shown in the chart. Over the same period, prices for finished energy goods climbed 9.2 percent, the index for finished consumer foods increased 2.8 percent, and prices for finished goods other than foods and energy advanced 1.9 percent.

These data are from the BLS Producer Price Index program. For more information, see "Producer Price Indexes -- September 2004" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-2103. 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.