September 15, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Producer prices decline in August

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods decreased 0.2 percent in August, seasonally adjusted. This index showed no change in July and increased 0.6 percent in June.

Percent change from 12 months ago, Producer Price Index for Finished Goods, not seasonally adjusted, August 1991-August 2000
[Chart data—TXT]

The index for finished consumer foods dropped 0.7 percent in August, after showing no change in July. The finished energy goods index fell 0.2 percent in August, after decreasing 0.7 percent in July. The index for finished goods other than foods and energy edged up 0.1 percent in August, the same rate as in July.

From August 1999 to August 2000, prices for finished goods rose 3.3 percent. The main cause of this increase can be traced to a 15.3-percent advance in prices for finished energy goods. During the same period, prices for finished goods other than foods and energy rose 1.5 percent, and prices for finished consumer foods increased 0.7 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Producer Price Index program. Find out more in "Producer Price Indexes, August 2000", news release USDL 00-268. 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.

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