August 2009 Producer Price Index — 2009-09-15

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 1.7 percent in August, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This increase followed a 0.9-percent decline in July and a 1.8-percent advance in June. In August, at the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods rose 1.8 percent and the crude goods index moved up 3.8 percent. On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods fell 4.3 percent from August 2008 to August 2009, following a record 6.8 percent 12-month decline in July. (See table A.) In August, over ninety percent of the finished goods increase was the result of higher energy prices, which moved up 8.0 percent. The indexes for finished goods less foods and energy and for finished consumer foods also contributed to the advance in finished goods prices, rising 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.