Well now this is interesting...
The Producer Price Index for finished goods increased 0.1 percent in June, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Prices for finished goods moved down 1.0 percent in May and declined 0.2 percent in April. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods decreased 0.5 percent in June, and the crude goods index fell 3.6 percent. On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods advanced 0.7 percent for the 12 months ended in June, the same rate as in May. (See table A.)
Hmmmm... So we have a 0.1% number which is mostly driven by..... foods, which were up 0.5%. Energy was down 0.9%, which would normally produce another negative number, but not this time due to the food influence.
Why is this important? Becasue the foods change was almost-certainly due to the move in commodity prices (which in turn was weather related.)
Ex both food and energy we're 0.2%, fourth month in a row that printed the same.
Now let's look at the better predictor of the economy, the inside table.
More recession indicators found here!
