July 19, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Producer prices in June 2006

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 0.5 percent in June, seasonally adjusted. This rise followed advances of 0.2 percent in May and 0.9 percent in April.

[Chart data—TXT]

Prices for finished energy goods rose 0.7 percent in June after moving up 0.4 percent in May. Leading this acceleration, the gasoline index climbed 6.3 percent following a 2.2-percent increase in the preceding month. Prices for home heating oil and diesel fuel also rose more in June than they had a month earlier.

The index for finished consumer foods rose 1.4 percent in June following a 0.5-percent decrease in May. Prices for processed young chickens jumped 12.1 percent after edging down in the preceding month. Also turning up were the indexes for eggs, fresh fruits, and dairy products. Prices for fresh and dry vegetables declined less in June than they had a month earlier, while the indexes for pork and confectionary products increased more than in May.

The index for finished goods other than foods and energy increased 0.2 percent in June following a 0.3-percent advance in May.

From June 2005 to June 2006, prices for finished goods advanced 4.9 percent, as shown in the chart.

These data are from the BLS Producer Price Index program. To learn more, see "Producer Price Indexes — June 2006" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-1232. 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.