Producer price inflation slows in 2019, as price increases for both services and goods decelerate from a year earlier

Using data from the Producer Price Index (PPI) program, this article describes changes in producer prices in 2019. Final-demand producer inflation over the year increased less than it did in 2018, because of smaller advances in the indexes for services, core goods, and foods. Intermediate-demand inflation for energy and core processed and unprocessed goods turned down in 2019, while that for food-based processed and unprocessed goods moved higher, following little change in 2018. In a broad-based shift, each of the major PPI components measuring intermediate-demand inflation for services advanced less in 2019 than in 2018. The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures the average change over time in selling prices received by domestic producers for their output.