The Producer Price Index for final demand advanced 0.2 percent in August, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices edged down 0.1 percent in July and moved up 0.1 percent in June. (See table A.) On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index increased 2.4 percent for the 12 months ended in August. Three-quarters of the August increase in final demand prices is attributable to the index for final demand goods, which climbed 0.5 percent. Prices for final demand services inched up 0.1 percent. The index for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services increased ... (full story)

U.S. producer prices rebounded in August, driven by a surge in the cost of gasoline, and there were also signs of a pickup in underlying producer inflation. The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand increased 0.2 percent last month after slipping 0.1 percent in July. In the 12 months through August, the PPI rose 2.4 percent after advancing 1.9 percent in July. Economists had forecast the PPI gaining 0.3 percent last month and accelerating 2.5 percent from a year ago. A key gauge of underlying producer price pressures that excludes food, energy and trade services rose 0.2 percent last month ... (full story)