August 2008 Producer Price Index — 2008-09-12

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods declined 0.9 percent in August, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This decrease followed advances of 1.2 percent in July and 1.8 percent in June. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods fell 1.0 percent in August after rising 2.7 percent in the prior month, and the crude goods index dropped 11.9 percent following a 4.2-percent increase in July. (See table A.) Leading the downturn in prices for finished goods, the index for energy goods fell 4.6 percent in August after climbing 3.1 percent in July. Prices for goods other than foods and energy advanced 0.2 percent following a 0.7-percent rise in the previous month. The index for consumer foods increased 0.3 percent in August, the same rate as in July.