December 2011 Producer Price Index — 2012-01-18

The Producer Price Index for finished goods declined 0.1 percent in December, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Prices for finished goods moved up 0.3 percent in November and fell 0.3 percent in October. At the earlier stages of processing, the index for intermediate goods decreased 0.5 percent in December, and crude goods prices moved down 1.1 percent. On an unadjusted basis, the index for finished goods increased 4.8 percent in 2011 after rising 3.8 percent in 2010. (See table A.) The December decline in finished goods prices is attributable to decreases of 0.8 percent in the indexes for finished energy goods and finished consumer foods. By contrast, prices for finished goods less foods and energy increased 0.3 percent. Finished energy: The index for finished energy goods fell 0.8 percent in December after inching up 0.1 percent in November. Leading this decline, gasoline prices dropped 2.3 percent.