(202) 606-7705 This Release Is Embargoed — 1997-03-14

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods declined 0.4 percent in February, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U. S. Department of Labor reported today. This followed a decrease of 0.3 percent in January and an increase of 0.6 percent in December. Prices received by producers of intermediate goods fell 0.1 percent in February after rising 0.2 percent in January. The Crude Goods Price Index dropped 5.9 percent in February following a gain of 5.2 percent in January. (See table A.) Among finished goods in February, the index for energy goods fell 1.2 percent following a 0.2-percent decrease in the prior month. Prices for finished consumer foods declined 0.3 percent after falling 1.0 percent in the previous month. The index for finished goods other than foods and energy fell 0.1 percent after remaining unchanged in January. Table A.