MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US Producer price index advanced 0.9% in April

The United States Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 0.9% in April, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.

The gain followed a 0.5% rise in March and a 1.4% decline in February.

The index for finished goods other than foods and energy rose 0.1%, the same rate of increase as in the previous month.

At the earlier stages of processing, prices for intermediate goods moved up 0.9% in April, after edging down 0.1% in the prior month, while the crude goods index increased 1.2%, following a 2.7% decrease in March.

Among finished goods, prices for energy goods advanced 4% in April, after rising 1.8% in the preceding month. The index for capital equipment climbed 0.2%, following a 0.1% gain in the previous month. Conversely, price increases for finished consumer foods slowed from 0.5% in March to 0.1% in April.

The index for finished consumer goods excluding foods and energy inched up 0.1%, compared with a 0.2% rise a month earlier.

Before seasonal adjustment, the Producer Price Index for Finished

Goods advanced 1% in April. From April 2005 to April 2006, prices for finished goods rose 4%.

Over the same period the finished energy goods index increased 18%, prices for finished goods other than foods and energy moved up 1.5%, and the finished consumer foods index fell 1.3%.

For the 12 months ended April 2006, prices for intermediate goods rose 7.3%, while the crude goods index climbed 3.4%.

Prices for finished energy goods increased 4% in April, following a 1.8% gain in the prior month.

The home heating oil index jumped 13.7%, after falling 3.6% in the preceding month. Prices for liquefied petroleum gas, residential electric power, and diesel fuel also turned up in April, while the indexes for gasoline and kerosene increased at quicker rates than they had in March.

By contrast, residential natural gas prices decreased 3% in April, compared with a 0.5% decline in the previous month.