The Producer Price Index for final demand fell 0.1 percent in August, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices decreased 0.4 percent in July and advanced 1.0 percent in June. (See table A.) On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand moved up 8.7 percent for the 12 months ended in August. In August, the decrease in the index for final demand is attributable to a 1.2-percent decline in prices for final demand goods. In contrast, the index for final demand services advanced 0.4 percent. Prices for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services moved up 0.2 ... (full story)

The prices that producers receive for goods and services declined in August, a mild respite from inflation pressures that are threatening to send the U.S. economy into recession. The producer price index, a gauge of prices received at the wholesale level, declined 0.1%, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Wednesday. Excluding food, energy and trade services, core PPI increased 0.2%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting headline PPI to decline 0.1% and core to rise 0.3%. On a year-over-year basis, headline PPI increased 8.7%, a substantial pullback from the 9.8% increase in July and the ... (full story)