(202) 606-7705 This Release Is Embargoed — 1998-04-09

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods declined 0.3 percent in March, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This decline followed decreases of 0.1 percent in February and 0.7 percent in January. The index for finished goods other than foods and energy showed no change in March, after advancing 0.1 percent a month ago. Prices received by producers of intermediate goods declined 0.5 percent, following a 0.2-percent drop in the prior month. The crude goods index fell 1.6 percent, after a 2.5- percent decrease in February. (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.) 1997 Mar. -0.2 0.9 -2.6 0.1 1.5 -0.3 -7.7 Apr.