August 09, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Producer prices decline in July

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods declined 0.2 percent in July, seasonally adjusted. This decrease followed a 0.1-percent rise in June and a 0.4-percent decline in May.

[Chart data—TXT]

At the earlier stages of processing, the intermediate goods index advanced at a 0.2-percent rate for the second consecutive month, and prices received by crude goods producers moved up 0.6 percent, following a 3.6-percent drop in June.

The index for finished goods other than foods and energy fell 0.3 percent in July, after posting a 0.2-percent increase in June. The index for finished consumer foods edged down 0.1 percent, following a 0.1-percent rise in the prior month. Prices for finished energy goods increased 0.1 percent in July, after showing no change in June.

Excluding passenger cars and light trucks, the index for finished goods would have shown no change and the index for finished goods other than foods and energy would have decreased 0.1 percent in July.

From July 2001 to July 2002, prices for finished goods fell 1.1 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Producer Price Index program.  Find out more in "Producer Price Indexes, July 2002" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 02-468.  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.