The producer price index (PPI) is a measure of prices charged by producers for domestically produced goods, services, and construction. It is constructed by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics in a fashion similar to the consumer price index (CPI) except it measures prices received from the producer’s perspective. It is another one of the various measures of inflation tracked by the US Fed, along with the CPI and core personal consumption expenditure (PCE).
The latest figures for April have been published by the Bureau and they indicate a +0.1% increase across the month. The increase was less than the +0.2% expected and lower than March’s +0.3%. On a 12-month basis, producer price inflation fell back to 2.7% in April after reading 3.0% in March and 2.9% in February.
Core PPI, or PPI which excludes food, energy and trade services, increased by 0.4%, which is the same rate as in March. On a 12-month basis, it remained unchanged at 2.9% after reading 2.9% in March and 2.5% in February.