April 19, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

PPI in March 2006

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods rose 0.5 percent in March, seasonally adjusted. This increase followed a 1.4-percent decline in February and a 0.3-percent advance in January.

[Chart data—TXT]

The March upturn in finished goods prices was led by the index for finished energy goods, which climbed 1.8 percent following a 4.7-percent decline in February. Prices for finished consumer foods also turned up—increasing 0.5 percent after falling 2.7 percent in the preceding month. By contrast, the index for finished goods less foods and energy rose 0.1 percent in March, following a 0.3-percent advance in February.

From March 2005 to March 2006, prices for finished goods advanced 3.5 percent, as shown in the chart.

These data are from the BLS Producer Price Index program. To learn more, see "Producer Price Indexes - March 2006" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-692. 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.