April 14, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Producer prices up 1.0 percent again in March

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 1.0 percent in March, seasonally adjusted. This rise followed a 1.0-percent increase in February and no change in January.

[Chart data—TXT]

Most of the March increase for finished goods can be attributed to a 5.8- percent jump in finished energy goods. The index for finished goods other than foods and energy edged up 0.1 percent in March, following a 0.3-percent gain in the prior month.

From March 1999 to March 2000, the Finished Goods Price Index increased 4.5 percent (unadjusted). Over the past 12 months, the index for finished goods other than foods and energy gained 1.2 percent, prices for finished consumer foods increased 0.9 percent, and the index for finished energy goods advanced 29.2 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Producer Price Index program. Find out more in Producer Price Indexes, March 2000, news release USDL 00-101. 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.