July 16, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

PPI dips in June

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods decreased 0.3 percent in June 2004, seasonally adjusted. This decline followed a 0.8-percent rise in May and a 0.7-percent increase in April.

[Chart data—TXT]

Among finished goods, the index for finished energy goods turned down 1.6 percent in June, following a 1.6-percent increase in May. Prices for finished consumer foods fell 0.6 percent, after gaining 1.5 percent in the prior month. The dairy products index fell 3.3 percent in June, following a 6.0-percent gain in May.

The rate of increase in the index for finished consumer goods other than foods and energy slowed to 0.1 percent in June from a 0.4-percent rate in May, and the index for capital equipment moved up at nearly the same pace in June as it did in the previous month.

From June 2003 to June 2004, the finished goods index moved up 4.0 percent, as shown in the chart. 

These data are from the BLS Producer Price Index program. For more information, see "Producer Price Indexes -- June 2004" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-1307. 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.