Commenter and writer RJS (Marketwatch666) reports on February Producer Prices. Producer Prices rose 0.5% in February on Higher Wholesale Food & Energy Prices The seasonally adjusted Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand rose 0.5% in February, as prices for finished wholesale goods were on average 1.4% higher, while margins of final services providers increased by 0.1%…that followed a January report that had the PPI 1.3% higher, with average prices for finished wholesale goods rising 1.4%, while margins of final services providers increased by 1.3%, a December report that indicated the PPI was up 0.3%, with prices for finished wholesale goods up 1.0% while margins of final services providers were 0.1% lower, a revised November report that
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Commenter and writer RJS (Marketwatch666) reports on February Producer Prices.
Producer Prices rose 0.5% in February on Higher Wholesale Food & Energy Prices
The seasonally adjusted Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand rose 0.5% in February, as prices for finished wholesale goods were on average 1.4% higher, while margins of final services providers increased by 0.1%…that followed a January report that had the PPI 1.3% higher, with average prices for finished wholesale goods rising 1.4%, while margins of final services providers increased by 1.3%, a December report that indicated the PPI was up 0.3%, with prices for finished wholesale goods up 1.0% while margins of final services providers were 0.1% lower, a revised November report that now shows the PPI was unchanged, with prices for finished wholesale goods rising 0.4% while margins of final services providers decreased 0.3%, and a revised October report that now indicates the PPI was 0.6% higher, with prices for finished wholesale goods rising 0.5% and margins of final services providers rising 0.7%….on an unadjusted basis, producer prices are now 2.8% higher than a year ago, up from the 1.7% year over year increase indicated by last month’s report, while, the core producer price index, which excludes food, energy and trade services, rose by 0.2% for the month, and is now 2.2% higher than in February a year ago, up from the 2.0% year over year increase as was shown in January…
As noted, the price index for final demand for goods, aka ‘finished goods’, was 1.4% higher in February, after being 1.4% higher in January, 1.0% higher in December, 0.4% higher in November, 0.5% higher in October, 0.4% higher in September, 0.4% higher in August, 0.5% higher in July, 0.4% higher in June, 1.4% higher in May, 2.8% lower in April, 1.7% lower in March, and 0.7% lower in February of last year…the finished goods price index rose 1.4% in February because the price index for wholesale energy goods was 6.0% higher, after it had risen by 5.1% in January, 4.9% in December, 1.5% in November, and by 0.5% in October, while the price index for wholesale foods rose 1.3%, after rising by 0.2% in January, falling 0.2% in December, rising by a revised 0.4% in November, by a revised 2.1% in October, and by 1.7% in September, and while the index for final demand for core wholesale goods (excluding food and energy) was 0.3% higher, after rising by 0.8% in January….wholesale energy prices averaged 6.0% higher due to a 13.1% increase in wholesale prices for gasoline, a 14.9% increase in wholesale prices for No.2 diesel fuel, and a 12.7% increase in wholesale prices for liquefied petroleum gas…meanwhile, the wholesale food price index rose 1.3% on a 41.1% increase in the wholesale price index for eggs for fresh use, an 13.0% increase in the wholesale price index for beef and veal, and a 7.0% increase in wholesale price index for fin-fish and shellfish….among core wholesale goods, the wholesale price index for industrial chemicals rose 4.2%,the wholesale price index for toys, games, and children’s vehicles rose 2.5%, and the wholesale price index for mobile homes rose 2.1%, while the wholesale price index for iron and steel scrap fell 10.3% ..
At the same time, the index for final demand for services rose 0.1% in February, after rising 1.3% in January, after falling by 0.1% in December, falling by 0.3% in November, and rising by 0.7% in October, as the index for final demand for trade services rose 0.1%, the index for final demand for transportation and warehousing services rose 1.1%, and the core index for final demand for services less trade, transportation, and warehousing services was unchanged…among trade services, seasonally adjusted margins for hardware, building materials, and supplies retailers rose 8.1%, margins for TV, video, and photographic equipment and supplies retailers rose 11.3%, and margins for furniture retailers rose 6.4%, while margins for apparel, jewelry, footwear, and accessories retailers fell 6.5%.. among transportation and warehousing services, average margins for air transportation of passengers rose 3.7% while average margins for rail transportation of freight and mail rose 0.8%…among the components of the core final demand for services index, the index for securities brokerage, dealing, and investment advice rose 5.8%, the index for passenger car rental rose 3.6%, and margins for consumer loans rose 2.5%, while margins for application software publishing fell 3.5%…
This report also showed the price index for intermediate processed goods rose 2.7% in February, after rising 1.7% in January, 1.4% in December, a revised 0.8% in November, a revised 0.9% in October, 0.6% in September, 0.9% in August, 1.4% in July, and 1.2% in June, but after being unchanged in May and falling the prior 5 months….the price index for intermediate energy goods rose 6.5%, as refinery prices for gasoline rose 13.1%, refinery prices for No. 2 diesel fuel rose 14.9%, producer prices for liquefied petroleum gas rose 12.7%, and producer prices for natural gas to electric utilities rose 8.8%… meanwhile, the price index for intermediate processed foods and feeds rose 2.2%, as the producer price index for fats and oil rose 3.7%, the producer price index for processed poultry rose 6.1%, and the producer price index for meats rose 5.2%…at the same time, the core price index for intermediate processed goods less food and energy rose 1.8% as the producer price index for plastic resins and materials rose 5.3%, the producer price index for steel mill products rose 11.8%, the producer price index for secondary nonferrous metals rose 8.8%, and the producer price index for softwood lumber rose 5.3%…prices for intermediate processed goods are now 6.6% higher than in February a year ago, the third increase after 19 consecutive year over year decreases, which followed 29 months of year over year increases, which had been preceded by 16 months of negative year over year comparisons, as prices for intermediate goods fell every month from July 2015 through March 2016….
Meanwhile, the price index for intermediate unprocessed goods rose 3.8% in February, after rising 3.8% in January, 2.2% in December, a revised 6.4% in November, a revised 1.3% in October, 5.2% in September, 4.0% in August, 0.6% in July, 5.4% in June and 8.4% in May, but after falling 13.7% in April, 8.1% in March and by 6.5% last February….that was as the February price index for crude energy goods rose 9.8% as crude oil prices rose 8.6%, unprocessed natural gas prices rose 14.5%, and coal prices fell 0.2%, while the price index for unprocessed foodstuffs and feedstuffs rose 3.5% on a 11.3% increase in the price of slaughter chickens, a 6.4% increase in the price of slaughter hogs, and a 4.7% increase in the price of corn…at the same time, the index for core raw materials other than food and energy materials fell 1.3%, as the price index for iron and steel scrap fell 10.3% against minor price changes in other materials… this raw materials index is now 19.0% higher than a year ago, just the fourth annual increase in more than 2 years, as the year over year change on this index had been negative from the beginning of 2019 through October of last year…
Lastly, the price index for services for intermediate demand rose 0.7% in February, after rising 1.3% in January, 0.4% in December, falling a revised 0.2% in November, rising 0.7% in October, rising 1.1% in September, 0.8% in August, 0.5% in July, and 0.3% last June….the price index for intermediate trade services was 2.0% higher, as margins for metals, minerals, and ores wholesalers rose 12.4%, margins for intermediate hardware, building material, and supplies retailers rose 8.1% and margins for machinery and equipment parts and supplies wholesalers rose 4.7%…meanwhile, the index for transportation and warehousing services for intermediate demand was 1.5% higher, as the intermediate price index for transportation of passengers rose 3.6% and the intermediate price index for arrangement of freight and cargo rose 17.4%…at the same time, the core price index for intermediate services less trade, transportation, and warehousing rose 0.1%, as the intermediate price index for securities brokerage, dealing, investment advice, and related services rose 5.8%, the intermediate price index for investment banking rose 5.5%, and the intermediate price index for network compensation from broadcast TV, cable TV, radio rose 3.8%, while the intermediate price index for traveler accommodation services fell 7.1%..over the 12 months ended in January, the year over year price index for services for intermediate demand is 3.7% higher than it was a year ago, the sixth consecutive positive annual change since it briefly turned negative year over year from April to August for the first time in the history of this index…