EmailEconomic
Last Update: 11-May-12 08:51 ET
PPI
Highlights
- A second consecutive monthly decline in the energy index drove producer prices down 0.2% in April. The Briefing.com consensus expected producer prices to be unchanged. PPI growth was flat in March.
- Excluding food and energy, core prices increased 0.2%, down from a 0.3% gain in March and exactly what the consensus expected.
Key Factors
- Energy prices fell 1.4% in April after falling 1.0% in March. Half of the drop in energy came from a 1.7% decline in gasoline costs. Residential gas prices, which until recently had been offsetting higher gasoline prices, resumed their downward trend and fell 3.1%.
- Food prices rose 0.2% in April, the same rate as in March. The gain was due to a 4.3% increase in beef and veal prices.
- Pharmaceutical preparations increased 0.4% and accounted for a quarter of the increase in core prices.
- Prices of light motor vehicles -- passenger cars and light trucks -- moderated in April.
- Pipeline pressures remained tame. Immediate goods prices fell 0.5% while crude goods prices fell 4.4%. Excluding food and energy, intermediate core prices increased 0.2%, down from a 0.6% gain in March. Core crude prices fell 1.8% in April after increasing 1.1% in March.
Big Picture
- Producer prices have moderated in recent months, in-line with recent declines in gasoline and crude prices.
| Category | APR | MAR | FEB | JAN | DEC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finished Goods | -0.2% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.2% | -0.1% |
| Core | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Capital Equipment | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Consumer Foods | 0.2% | 0.2% | -0.1% | -0.3% | -0.9% |
| Energy | -1.4% | -1.0% | 1.3% | 0.1% | -0.4% |
| Intermediate Materials | -0.5% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 0.2% | -0.3% |
| Core | 0.2% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 0.2% | -0.6% |
| Crude Materials | -4.4% | -2.5% | 0.4% | 1.3% | -1.5% |
| Core | -1.8% | 1.1% | -0.3% | 1.7% | -0.1% |
