Producer Prices in October: Better Than Expected, but Still Firmer Than Desired

Summary

• The Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.3% in October, falling short of the expected 0.5% increase.
• Energy prices dipped 0.1% in October following 10.0% and 4.2% increases in September and August respectively.
• The 12-month energy price change reached 37.0%, marking the sharpest increase since early in the year.
• Food prices jumped 1.3% in October after a 1.1% rise in September, resulting in a 1.7% year-over-year change.
• Prices excluding food and energy rose 0.3%, leaving the year-over-year change at 5.0%, the fastest pace in recent years.
• Prices of trade services fell 0.2% in October, contributing to a 0.5% jump in the PPI excluding food, energy, and trade services.
• The year-over-year change for the PPI excluding food, energy, and trade services totaled 4.9%, just below the recent high of 5.0%.
• Intermediate demand prices for processed goods increased 0.4% in October, with a year-over-year change of 14.6%.
• Intermediate demand prices for services rose 0.6% in October, resulting in a 6.8% year-over-year change.
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics published the data, which is available in Haver's USECON database.