the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Washington DC, the Producer Price Index for final demand fell 0.5 percent in July, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This decline followed advances of 1.0 percent in June and 0.8 percent in May.
The index for final demand goods fell 1.8 percent in July, the largest decline since moving down 2.7 percent in April 2020. The July decrease can be traced to a 9.0-percent drop in prices for final demand energy. Conversely, the indexes for final demand foods and for final demand goods less foods and energy rose 1.0 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
On an unadjusted basis, final demand prices moved up 9.8 percent for the 12 months ended in July. In July, the decrease in the index for final demand is attributable to a 1.8-percent decline in prices for final demand goods.
In contrast, the index for final demand services advanced 0.1 percent. Prices for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services moved up 0.2 percent in July following a 0.3-percent rise in June. For the 12 months ended in July, the index for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services increased 5.8 percent.