The producer price index for Finished Goods fell 0.7 percent in December, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This decline followed a 0.5-percent increase in November and a 1.7-percent advance in October. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods turned down 0.3 percent, after rising 0.8 percent in the previous month, and the crude goods index declined 2.9 percent in December, following a 8.7-percent increase in November.
Among finished goods, prices for energy goods dropped 4.0 percent in December, as opposed to the 1.8-percent increase registered in November. (Excluding energy, prices for finished goods rose 0.1 percent in December.) The index for finished consumer foods inched up 0.1 percent in December, compared with a 0.4-percent gain in the prior month. Prices for finished goods other than foods and energy rose 0.1 percent in December, following a 0.2-percent increase in November.
Before seasonal adjustment, the producer price index for Finished Goods declined 0.9 percent to 150.4 (1982=100). From December 2003 to December 2004, finished goods prices increased 4.1 percent, after climbing 4.0 percent during 2003. Prices for finished goods other than foods and energy gained 2.2 percent in 2004, following a 1.0-percent rise in 2003. Prices for finished energy goods advanced 13.4 percent in 2004, compared with an 11.4-percent increase in the previous year. By contrast, the finished consumer foods index moved up 2.8 percent in 2004, following a 7.7-percent advance in the prior year. At the earlier stages of processing, the intermediate goods index jumped 9.1 percent from December 2003 to December 2004, after registering a 3.9-percent gain during 2003. Prices received by producers of crude materials for further processing increased 18.0 percent in 2004, following a 19.5-percent rise in the prior year.
Finished goods
The index for finished energy goods turned down 4.0 percent in December, after increasing 1.8 percent in November. Gasoline prices fell 11.1 percent, following a 0.7-percent decline in the preceding month. The indexes for home heating oil and diesel fuel also fell more in December than they did in November. Prices for residential natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas turned down, after rising in November, while the residential electric power index increased less than it did in the prior month.Prices for finished consumer foods edged up 0.1 percent in December, after increasing 0.4 percent in the prior month. In December, rising prices for beef and veal, eggs for fresh use, dairy products, fresh fruits and melons, confectionery end products, and processed young chickens outweighed price declines for fresh and dry vegetables, pork, shortening and cooking oils, finfish and shellfish, and bakery products.
The index for finished consumer goods other than foods and energy inched up 0.1 percent in December, following a 0.2-percent gain in the prior month. Prices for pharmaceutical preparations, cosmetics and other toilet preparations, mobile homes, newspaper circulation, book publishing, and cigarettes advanced in December. By contrast, prices for passenger cars, periodical circulation, alcoholic beverages, light motor trucks, sporting and athletic goods, and men's and boys' apparel fell in December. During 2004, the index for finished consumer goods other than foods and energy advanced 2.0 percent, following a 1.1-percent rise in 2003.
A 0.1-percent increase in capital equipment prices in December followed a 0.2-percent gain in November. Rising prices for railroad equipment, civilian aircraft, agricultural machinery and equipment, commercial furniture, transformers and power regulators, and metal cutting machine tools more than compensated for declining prices for communication and related equipment, passenger cars, integrating and measuring instruments, light motor trucks, truck trailers, and electronic computers. For the 12 months ended December 2004, capital equipment prices advanced 2.4 percent, after posting a 0.8-percent increase during the previous year.
