June 18, 2008 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

PPI in May 2008

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 1.4 percent in May, seasonally adjusted. This rise followed a 0.2-percent advance in April and a 1.1-percent increase in March.

Percent change from 12 months ago, Producer Price Index for Finished Goods, not seasonally adjusted, May 1999-May 2008
[Chart data—TXT]

The index for finished energy goods turned up 4.9 percent in May after decreasing 0.2 percent in the preceding month. The index for gasoline rose 9.3 percent following a 4.6-percent decrease in April.

The index for finished consumer foods rose 0.8 percent in May following no change in the prior month.

The rise in the index for finished goods less foods and energy slowed to 0.2 percent in May from 0.4 percent in the prior month.

From May 2007 to May 2008, prices for finished goods rose 7.2 percent, as shown in the chart.

These data are from the BLS Producer Price Index program. To learn more, see "Producer Price Indexes — May 2008," (PDF) (HTML) news release USDL 08-0830. 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.