Producer Price Index

[ekatteng]

Is it the producer price index a better inflation indicator ?
It does includes energy cost and distribution....

[James48843]

Producer Price index last month slipped the attention of most media types.

It really should not have been missed. In case YOU missed it, the November PPI numbers were at levels unheard of in years.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ppi.nr0.htm

Look at the inflation in finished goods- Incredible! This is probably part of the reason Ben did not drop the fed rate more than a quarter point. And if this carries on more than a month, then our economy is about to have a REAL hiccup next month.
Here is an extract: Read the full annoucement at the link above:

Finished goods

Prices for finished energy goods increased 14.1 percent in November following a 0.8-
percent decline a month earlier. The gasoline index jumped 34.8 percent after falling 3.1 percent in the preceding month. Prices for home heating oil, diesel fuel, and asphalt also turned up in November. The indexes for residential electric power, liquefied petroleum gas, and kerosene rose more than in the prior month.

And:

Before seasonal adjustment, the Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 1.6 percent in November to 171.3 (1982 = 100). From November 2006 to November 2007, prices for finished goods rose 7.2 percent. Over the same period, the finished energy goods index climbed 23.6 percent, prices for finished consumer foods increased 7.3 percent, and the index for finished goods other than foods and energy moved up 2.0 percent. For the 12 months ended November 2007, prices for intermediate goods increased 8.1 percent, while the crude goods index jumped 22.4 percent.