The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 0.9 percent in May, seasonally adjusted, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. This advance followed a 0.7 percent rise in April and a 1.0 percent increase in March.
Prices for finished consumer goods less foods and energy advanced 0.3 percent in May following a 0.1 percent decline in April.
The finished energy goods index rose 4.1 percent in May following a 3.4 percent advance in April. Leading this acceleration, prices for gasoline jumped 10.2 percent after rising 8.2 percent a month earlier.
The index for finished consumer foods declined 0.2 percent in May following a 0.4 percent advance in the preceding month. Prices for fresh and dry vegetables dropped 35.0 percent following an 8.9 percent increase in April.
The capital equipment index inched up 0.1 percent in May, the same rate of advance as in the prior month.
This data is from the BLS Producer Price Index program. To learn more, see "Producer Price Indexes — May 2007," news release USDL 07-0844. All producer price indexes are routinely subject to revision once, four months after original publication, to reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents.
