May 15, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Producer prices down in April

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods declined 0.3 percent in April, seasonally adjusted. This decrease followed increases of 1.0 percent in February and March.

Percent change from 12 months ago, Producer Price Index for Finished Goods, not seasonally adjusted, Apirl 1991-April 2000
[Chart data—TXT]

Among finished goods in April, prices for finished energy goods fell 4.1 percent, after registering a 5.8-percent increase in March. This downturn marks the largest decrease in finished energy goods since a 5.0-percent drop in February 1991.

By contrast, the index for finished consumer foods rose 1.0 percent, following a 0.1-percent gain a month ago. Capital equipment prices advanced 0.2 percent, after rising 0.1 percent in March. The index for finished consumer goods other than foods and energy rose 0.1 percent for the second consecutive month.

From April 1999 to April 2000, finished goods prices gained 3.9 percent (unadjusted).

These data are a product of the BLS Producer Price Index program. Find out more in Producer Price Indexes, April 2000, news release USDL 00-137. 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.

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