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Producer Price Index up 0.7% in March, ex Fd & Engy up 0.1%
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The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods rose 0.7 percent in March, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This advance followed a 0.6-percent decline in February and a 1.4-percent increase in January. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods climbed 0.6 percent in March and the crude goods index rose 3.2 percent. On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods advanced 6.0 percent for the 12 months ended March 2010, their largest year-over-year gain since an 8.8-percent rise in September 2008.
In March, over seventy percent of the increase in the finished goods index can be attributed to a 2.4-percent jump in prices for consumer foods. Also contributing to higher finished goods prices, the index for finished energy goods advanced 0.7 percent and prices for finished goods other than foods and energy inched up 0.1 percent.
Posted: April 22, 2010 Thursday 08:30 AM