November 13, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Producer prices up again in October

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods rose 0.4 percent in October, seasonally adjusted. This index increased 0.9 percent in September and declined 0.2 percent in August.

[Chart data—TXT]

The index for finished goods other than foods and energy edged down 0.1 percent in October, after rising 0.3 percent in the prior month. Prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods increased 0.2 percent, following a 0.7-percent advance a month earlier. The crude goods index rose 3.4 percent, after jumping 5.3 percent in September.

For the first 10 months of 2000, the Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased at a 4.1-percent seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). During calendar year 1999 the same index rose 2.9 percent.

From October 1999 to October 2000, prices for finished goods rose 3.6 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Producer Price Index program. Find out more in the "Producer Price Indexes, October 2000", news release USDL 00-330. 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.