June PPI For Finished Goods Continues To Increase

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 0.5% in June, according to released numbers by U.S. Department of Labor today. This increase followed a 0.2% improvement in May and a 0.9% increase in April.

The PPI for Intermediate Materials, Supplies, and Components rose 0.7% in June following a 1.1% increase in May. Prices for materials for durable manufacturing, intermediate energy goods, materials and components for construction, and materials for nondurable manufacturing also noted an increase, but less than in May.

The index for materials for durable manufacturing increase slightly by 1.1% in June after rising 4.4% in May. Hot rolled steel sheet and strip prices increased 5.6% in June after gaining 7.9% in May.

From December 2005 to June 2006, prices for materials for nondurable manufacturing climbed 8.2%, at the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) after rising at a 14.8% SAAR from June to December 2005.

The PPI for the Net Output of Total Mining Industries dropped 4.4% in June after rising 3.1% in May. The majority of this downturn can be attributed to prices received by the oil and gas extraction industry group, which declined 6.5% following a 3.2% improvement in May.

The PPI for the Net Output of Total Manufacturing Industries increased 0.6% in June following a 0.9% gain a month earlier. The industry group index for petroleum and coal products advanced 3.0% after increasing 4.3% in May.

Prices received by manufacturers of electrical equipment, appliances, and components and by producers of primary metals also rose less than they had in May. Prices received by food manufacturers increased 1.2% after a 0.6% increase in May.

From December 2005 to June 2006, the PPI for the Net Output of Total Manufacturing Industries rose at an annual rate of 9.0% following a 4.3-percent rate of increase from June to December 2005.

The entire PPI report can be found at: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ppi.toc.htm.