The producer price index (PPI) is a measure of prices charged by producers for domestically produced goods, services, and construction. In the US, it is constructed by the 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 core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data.
The latest figures for November have been published by the Bureau and they indicate producer prices increased by 0.1% during the month after seasonal adjustments. The result was above expectations but quite a bit lower than October’s 0.6% increase. On a 12-month basis, the rate of producer price inflation after seasonal adjustments fell back to 2.6% after recording 2.9% in October and 2.7% in September.
“Core” PPI inflation, increased on a seasonally-adjusted basis by +0.3% for the month. On an annual basis, the rate ticked up from October’s revised rate of 2.6% to 2.7% in November.