November 17, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Beef, vehicle prices contribute to October PPI gain

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 0.8 percent in October, seasonally adjusted. Rising prices for beef and veal, light motor trucks, and passenger cars led the increase in the finished goods index.

[Chart data—TXT]

Among finished goods, prices for finished consumer foods moved up 2.2 percent in October, compared with a 1.2-percent increase in the previous month. Excluding beef and veal, the finished goods index would have risen 0.5 percent in October. 

The index for finished goods other than foods and energy rose 0.5 percent, after showing no change in September. Excluding passenger cars and light trucks, prices for finished goods other than foods and energy would have risen 0.2 percent in October. By contrast, prices for finished energy goods inched down 0.1 percent in October, following a 0.1-percent gain a month earlier.

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From October 2002 to October 2003, prices for finished goods advanced 3.4 percent, as shown in the chart.

These data are from the BLS Producer Price Index program. Find out more in "Producer Price Indexes -- October 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 03–720. 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.