November 2010 Consumer and Producer Price Indices

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The seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.1 percent in November. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.1 percent.

The indexes for food, energy, and all items less food and energy all increased slightly in November. Although the index for gasoline rose, the index for household energy declined and the increase in the energy index was the smallest in five months.

The index for all items less food and energy rose in November after being unchanged the previous three months. Increases in the indexes for shelter and airline fares accounted for most of the rise, while the indexes for new vehicles, used cars and trucks, and household furnishings and operations all declined.

Over the last 12 months, the index for all items less food and energy has risen 0.8 percent. The energy index has risen 3.9 percent over that span with the gasoline index up 7.3 percent but the household energy index down 0.2 percent. The food index has risen 1.5 percent, with the food at home index up 1.7 percent.

The seasonally adjusted Producer Price Index for Finished Goods (PPI) increased 0.8 percent in November. This increase followed a 0.4-percent advance in both October and September. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods climbed 1.1 percent in November, and the crude goods index moved up 0.6 percent. On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods rose 3.5 percent for the 12 months ended November 2010, their smallest 12-month increase since a 3.1-percent advance in August.
 

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Details at different stages of processing include:

Finished goods -- About two-thirds of the November advance in the finished goods index can be traced to prices for energy goods, which rose 2.1 percent. Also contributing to the broad-based November increase in the finished goods index, prices for consumer foods and for goods other than foods and energy advanced 1.0 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Intermediate goods -- This index moved up 1.1 percent in November, its fourth consecutive monthly increase. The November advance was broad-based, with prices for intermediate energy goods rising 2.8 percent, the index for intermediate materials less foods and energy increasing 0.7 percent, and prices for intermediate foods and feeds climbing 1.9 percent. On a 12-month basis, the index for intermediate goods moved up 6.3 percent in November.

Crude goods -- The crude-goods index rose 0.6 percent in November. For the 3 months ended in November, crude goods prices increased 4.3 percent following a 2.3-percent advance for the 3 months ended in August. Leading the monthly November rise, the index for crude nonfood materials less energy climbed 3.1 percent. Also contributing to higher crude goods prices, the index for foodstuffs and feedstuffs moved up 0.7 percent. By contrast, prices for crude energy materials decreased 1.3 percent.
 

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In the case of forest products sector PPIs that we track, most indices appear to be either in the process of breaking off their earlier declines, or are beginning/continuing to move higher. Prices are all higher than year-earlier levels, although the rate of growth has slowed in several cases.
 

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