(202) 606-7705 This Release Is Embargoed — 1996-11-13

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 0.4 percent in October, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This followed a 0.2-percent increase in September and a 0.3 percent rise in August. Prices received by domestic producers of intermediate goods registered no change in October after increasing 0.3 percent a month earlier. The Crude Goods Price Index declined 0.6 percent following a 1.5-percent drop in September. (See table A.) Among finished goods in October, prices for both finished energy goods and finished consumer foods rose more than in the prior month. By contrast, the index for finished goods other than food and energy fell 0.3 percent after rising 0.3 percent in September. Table A.