–August PPI Excluding Only Energy +0.4%, Same As In July
–August PPI Up 2.0% Year/Year Compared With 0.5% Rise In July
–August Core PPI Up 2.5% Year/Year, Unchanged From July
–Energy Prices Rebound 6.4%, Gasoline +13.6%, Electricity +0.4%
–Food Prices Up 0.9% In August On Widespread Gains

By Kevin Kastner

WASHINGTON (MNI) – The Producer Price Index rose 1.7% in August,
above expectations for a 1.4% rise, as energy prices surged 6.4% after
declines in the previous five months and food prices were up 0.9%, data
released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed.

The core PPI rose 0.2%, as expected. Within the core, prices of
passenger cars fell 0.2%, but light truck prices rose 0.6%. There were
increases in prices for the apparel categories outside of footwear, as
well as pharmaceutical preps.

However, there were price declines for home-related categories such
as furniture, floor coverings, and home electronics. Prices of appliance
only rose 0.1%.

Energy prices broke a string of 5 consecutive declines with their
6.4% rise, which was led by a 13.6% jump in gasoline prices. In
addition, prices rose 10.8% for home heating oil, 1.0% for residential
gas, and 0.4% for home electricity.

Energy prices were up 0.4% year/year in August, while gasoline
prices stand 4.3% above their year-ago level.

Excluding only energy prices, the August PPI would have been up
0.4%, the same pace as in July.

Food prices rose 0.9% in August following a 0.5% rise in the
previous month. There were prices increases for almost all the food
categories, particularly eggs. However, the price of fresh fruit fell
0.8% in the month and the price of beef fell 3.2%.

With the 1.2% unadjusted monthly rise in PPI, the 12-month rate now
stands at 2.0%, up sharply from the 0.5% rate in July that hit a near
3-year low.

For core PPI, the year/year rate held steady at 2.5% in August.

In the inflation pipeline, intermediate goods prices were up 1.1%
overall, but fell 0.2% excluding food and energy prices. Crude prices
surged 5.8% in August and were up 2.2% excluding food and energy prices.

** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]