July 2008 Producer Price Index — 2008-08-19

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 1.2 percent in July, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This increase followed a 1.8-percent jump in June and a 1.4-percent rise in May. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods moved up 2.7 percent in July compared with a 2.1-percent gain in the prior month, and the index for crude materials for further processing climbed 4.2 percent subsequent to a 3.7-percent increase in June. (See table A.) Among prices for finished goods, the index for energy goods rose 3.1 percent in July following a 6.0-percent jump in June. Price increases for finished consumer foods also slowed, from 1.5 percent in June to 0.3 percent in July. By contrast, partially offsetting the deceleration in finished goods prices, the index for finished goods other than foods and energy advanced 0.7 percent after edging up 0.2 percent in June.