U.S. Producer Prices Fell 0.4% as Inflation Remains Muted
Source: The Wall Street Journal.
U.S. Producer Prices Fell 0.4% as Inflation Remains Muted
Gauge of wholesale prices suffers its biggest decline since September 2015
By Anna Louie Sussman and Jeffrey Sparshott
anna.sussman@wsj.com
http://twitter.com/annalouiesuss
Jeffrey.Sparshott@wsj.com
http://twitter.com/jeffsparshott
Updated Aug. 12, 2016 9:07 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON—A gauge of prices paid by U.S. businesses fell in July, as global economic weakness and another drop in energy prices outweighed a strengthening domestic labor market.
The producer-price index, measuring what companies pay other firms for goods and services ranging from dairy products to warehousing, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in July from a month earlier, its largest one-month fall since September 2015, the Labor Department said Friday. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called “core” prices were down 0.3%.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected overall prices to rise 0.1% and core prices to increase 0.2%. ... Producer prices can provide a preview of how more closely watched measures of consumer prices will move, since businesses will often charge more in order to offset their own cost increases.
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July’s figures suggest inflation pressures remain muted. Increases in producer prices had accelerated of late, posting consecutively larger monthly gains in April through June. But over the year, producer prices are down 0.2%, and core producer prices have risen just 0.7%.
Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-producer-prices-fell-0-4-in-july-1471005291
PPI for final demand decreases 0.4% in July; services fall 0.3% and goods decline 0.4%
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PRODUCER PRICE INDEXES - JULY 2016
The Producer Price Index for final demand decreased 0.4 percent in July, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices rose 0.5 percent in June and 0.4 percent in May. On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index moved down 0.2 percent for the 12 months ended in July. (See table A.)
In July, the decline in the final demand index was led by prices for final demand services, which fell 0.3 percent. The index for final demand goods decreased 0.4 percent.
Prices for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services were unchanged in July after rising 0.3 percent in June. For the 12 months ended in July, the index for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services increased 0.8 percent.
Final Demand
Final demand services: The index for final demand services fell 0.3 percent in July, the largest decline since moving down 0.3 percent in March. The July decrease can be traced to margins for final demand trade services, which fell 1.3 percent. (Trade indexes measure changes in margins received by wholesalers and retailers.) Conversely, prices for final demand services less trade, transportation, and warehousing advanced 0.2 percent, and the index for final demand transportation and warehousing services increased 0.1 percent.
Product detail: Nearly 60 percent of the decrease in prices for final demand services is attributable to margins for apparel, jewelry, footwear, and accessories retailing, which fell 6.0 percent. The indexes for machinery and equipment wholesaling; health, beauty, and optical goods retailing; food retailing; loan services (partial); and automotive fuels and lubricants retailing also declined. In contrast, prices for traveler accommodation services climbed 3.9 percent. The indexes for chemicals and allied products wholesaling and for securities brokerage, dealing, investment advice, and related services also moved higher. (See table 4.)
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The Producer Price Index for August 2016 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, September, 15, 2016 at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).
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