The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for finished goods rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent in June, the Labor Department reported this morning. The index had risen 0.2 percent in May and 0.9 percent in April.
The core rate, excluding food and energy, rose 0.2 percent last month, to 1.9 percent above its level in June 2005.
Meanwhile, prices received by producers of intermediate goods climbed 0.7
percent in June, after increasing 1.1 percent in May, and prices for crude goods fell 1.7 percent, after gaining 2.0 percent in May.
The PPI measures the average change over time in the selling prices that domestic producers receive for their output. The full report is available online at the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site.
