Producer prices edge down in March

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods edged down 0.1 percent in March, seasonally adjusted. This decline followed a 0.1-percent rise in February and a 1.1-percent advance in January.

[Chart data—TXT]

Among finished goods, prices for energy goods turned down 2.6 percent in March, compared with a 1.4-percent increase in the previous month. The index for finished consumer goods other than foods and energy rose 0.3 percent, after falling 0.4 percent in February. Prices for finished consumer foods rose more than they did a month earlier. The capital equipment index showed no change in March, after falling 0.3 percent in the prior month.

During the first quarter of 2001, the Finished Goods Price Index moved up at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 4.9 percent, following a 2.9-percent rate of increase during the fourth quarter of 2000.

These data are a product of the BLS Producer Price Index program. Find out more in the "Producer Price Indexes, March 2001", news release USDL 01-84. All producer price indexes are routinely subject to revision once, 4 months after original publication, to reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents.