August 16, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

PPI in July

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods rose 0.1 percent in July 2004, seasonally adjusted. This increase followed a 0.3-percent decline in June and a 0.8-percent jump in May.

[Chart data—TXT]

The July upturn in the finished goods index was led by the index for finished energy goods, which rose 2.3 percent in July following a 1.6-percent drop in June. By contrast, the index for finished consumer foods declined 1.6 percent in July, compared with a 0.6-percent decrease in June. Prices for finished goods other than foods and energy increased 0.1 percent in July, following a 0.2-percent rise in the previous month.

From July 2003 to July 2004, the finished goods index moved up 4.0 percent, as shown in the chart. Over the same period, prices for finished energy goods advanced 11.3 percent, the index for finished consumer foods rose 5.0 percent, and prices for finished goods other than foods and energy increased 1.7 percent.

These data are from the BLS Producer Price Index program. For more information, see "Producer Price Indexes -- July 2004" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-1521. 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.