(202) 606-7705 This Release Is Embargoed — 1997-12-12

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods decreased 0.2 percent in November, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U. S. Department of Labor reported today. This followed a rise of 0.1 percent in October. Prices for finished goods other than foods and energy fell 0.1 percent in November after showing no change in the prior month. Prices received by domestic producers of intermediate goods increased 0.2 percent in November following a 0.1-percent decrease in the previous month. The index for crude materials rose 1.6 percent after advancing 4.0 percent in October. (See table A.) Table A. Monthly and annual percent changes in selected stage-of- processing price indexes, seasonally adjusted Finish ed goods Change in Except finished Inter- goods foods from 12 mediateCrude and months Month Total Foods Energy energy ago goods goods (unadj.) 1996 Nov. 0.2 0.0 0.9 0.0 3.0 -0.2 2.7 Dec. 0.5 -0.2 3.3 0.1 2.8 0.5 6.2 1997 Jan.