May 14, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Rise in producer prices in April

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods rose 0.3 percent in April, seasonally adjusted. This increase followed a 0.1-percent decline in March and a 0.1-percent gain in February.

Percent change from 12 months ago, Producer Price Index for Finished Goods, not seasonally adjusted, April 1992-April 2001
[Chart data—TXT]

The index for finished goods other than foods and energy moved up 0.2 percent in April, compared with a 0.1-percent increase in March. Prices received by producers of intermediate goods fell 0.2 percent in April, the same rate of decrease as in the prior month. The crude goods index turned up 0.9 percent, following a 1.7-percent drop in March.

From April 2000 to April 2001, finished goods prices gained 3.7 percent. Over the same period, the index for finished energy goods increased 13.5 percent, finished goods other than foods and energy advanced 1.6 percent, and finished consumer foods rose 3.1 percent. Prices received by producers of intermediate goods increased 2.0 percent for the 12 months ended April 2001, and the index for crude goods advanced 19.4 percent during the same period.

These data are a product of the BLS Producer Price Index program. Find out more in the "Producer Price Indexes, April 2001", news release USDL 01-134. 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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