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Economy in Brief
Kansas City Federal Reserve Factory Index Hits Record High
The Kansas City Fed reported that its index of regional manufacturing sector business activity surged to a record 26...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Decline Sharply
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell sharply to 209,000 (-17.1% y/y)...
U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Are Little Changed; Rates Remain High
The MBA total Mortgage Applications Volume Index eased 0.2% last week (-1.9% y/y)...
Japan Shows Very Moderate Growth As Trade War Clouds Gather
Japan’s sector indexes showed a solid gain in February...
U.S. Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Rose in April
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose to 128.7 in April from 127.0 (initially reported as 127.7) in March...
by Tom Moeller July 13, 2012
The producer price index for finished goods ticked 0.1% higher
last month following a 1.0% May decline. Consensus expectations were for a
0.4% decline. Despite the gain, the PPI rose just 0.8% during the last
year, the weakest since October 2009. The PPI less food & energy rose
an expected 0.2% for the fourth consecutive month. During the twelve
months core prices rose 2.6%, the least since last July.
A 0.5% increase (2.8% y/y) in finished food prices provided the lift to last month's PPI. Gains were not, however, broad-based amongst commodity groupings. Energy prices fell 0.9% (-5.5% y/y) reflecting an 8.3% decline (-5.2% y/y) in home heating oil prices and a 2.1% drop (-1.3% y/y) in electric power costs. Offsetting these declines was a 1.9% rise (-4.8% y/y) in gasoline prices. (Not seasonally adjusted gasoline prices fell 4.8% m/m.)
Finished consumer goods prices were unchanged (0.3% y/y). Less food & energy, consumer goods prices rose 0.3% (3.3% y/y). Within the components, men's apparel prices rose 5.2% y/y while women's clothing costs increased just 0.5% y/y. Household appliance prices rose 5.0% since June of 2011, furniture prices gained 2.9% y/y and passenger car prices increased 0.6 % y/y. Capital equipment prices gained just 0.2% last month and by 1.9% year-to-year.
Intermediate goods prices fell 0.5% (-1.2% y/y). Energy costs slipped 0.2% last month and by 5.4% y/y but food prices increased 1.0% (2.5% y/y). Core-intermediate prices fell 0.7% and slipped 0.3% y/y. Crude materials prices fell 3.6% last month and were down 11.6% year-to-year. Energy prices declined 5.1% (-20.5% y/y) while food prices were down 1.6% (-3.5% y/y). Prices less food & energy dropped 4.0% and were down 9.4% over the prior twelve months.
The PPI data are contained in Haver's USECON database with further detail in PPI and PPIR. The expectations figures are available in the AS1REPNA database.
Producer Price Index (%) | Jun | May | Apr | Jun Y/Y | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Finished Goods | 0.1 | -1.0 | -0.2 | 0.8 | 6.0 | 4.2 | -2.5 |
Less Food & Energy | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 2.6 |
Food | 0.5 | -0.6 | 0.2 | 2.8 | 6.3 | 3.9 | -1.4 |
Energy | -0.9 | -4.3 | -1.4 | -5.5 | 15.7 | 13.6 | -17.6 |
Intermediate Goods | -0.5 | -0.8 | -0.5 | -1.2 | 9.1 | 6.4 | -8.4 |
Less Food & Energy | -0.7 | -0.2 | 0.2 | -0.3 | 6.2 | 4.3 | -4.2 |
Crude Materials | -3.6 | -3.2 | -4.4 | -11.6 | 17.4 | 21.4 | -30.3 |
Less Food & Energy | -4.0 | -1.3 | -1.8 | -9.4 | 18.5 | 32.5 | -23.3 |