June 18, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

PPI in May

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 0.8 percent in May 2004, seasonally adjusted. This increase followed a 0.7-percent rise in April and a 0.5-percent gain in March.

[Chart data—TXT]

Among finished goods in May, the index for finished consumer foods moved up 1.5 percent, compared with a 1.4-percent gain in the prior month. Prices for finished energy goods rose at a 1.6-percent rate for the second consecutive month. The index for finished goods other than foods and energy moved up at a slightly quicker pace in May than it did in April—rising 0.3 in May and 0.2 percent in April.

From May 2003 to May 2004, prices for finished goods advanced 5.0 percent, as shown in the chart. This is the largest 12-month increase in the finished goods index since a 5.7-percent advance for the 12 months ended December 1990.

These data are from the BLS Producer Price Index program. For more information, see "Producer Price Indexes -- May 2004" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-1027. 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. Note: The Producer Price Index for May 2004, originally scheduled for release on June 11, was released on June 17.