August 03, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Slower increase in food PPI last year

The producer price index for finished consumer foods moved up 1.7 percent in 2005 following a 3.1-percent gain in 2004 and a 7.7-percent jump in 2003.

[Chart data—TXT]

Accounting for the slower rate of advance in 2005 were prices for pork products, dairy products, processed turkeys, and fresh fruits and melons, which all turned down after rising in the preceding year. The indexes for confectionery end products, soft drinks, and finfish and shellfish increased less than they had in 2004.

In contrast, prices for fresh and dry vegetables, beef and veal, and eggs for fresh use advanced in 2005 following declines in the prior year.

These data are from the BLS Producer Price Index program. Annual percent changes are December to December. Learn more in "Price highlights 2005: higher energy prices again dominate producer prices," by Joseph Kowal, Antonio Lombardozzi, William Snyders, and Jonathan Weinhagen, Monthly Labor Review, July 2006.