January 2009 Producer Price Index — 2009-02-19

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods rose 0.8 percent in January, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This increase followed declines of 1.9 percent in December and 2.5 percent in November. At the earlier stages of processing, the decrease in prices for intermediate materials slowed to 0.7 percent from 4.2 percent in the prior month, and the index for crude materials declined 2.9 percent after dropping 5.3 percent in December. (See table A.) The upturn in the index for finished goods was led by the index for energy goods, which increased 3.7 percent after falling 9.1 percent in December. Price declines for finished consumer foods slowed to 0.4 percent in January from 1.4 percent in the preceding month. The index for finished goods less foods and energy increased 0.4 percent following a 0.2-percent rise a month earlier.