The Producer Price Index (PPI) reported that overall final demand prices increased by 3.5 percent over the past twelve months and rose 0.4 percent in January.
According to the report, the rise in demand was attributable to the index for final demand goods, which increased by 0.6 percent. Comparatively, the index for final demand services only rose by 0.3 percent.
Final Demand Services: In January, the index for final demand services increased by 0.3 percent, marking the sixth consecutive rise. Approximately three-fourths of this increase was due to the prices for final demand services excluding trade, transportation, and warehousing, which rose by 0.4 percent. Additionally, the indexes for final demand transportation and warehousing services and final demand trade services increased by 0.6 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. More specifically, a significant contributor to these changes was the rise in prices for traveler accommodation services, which advanced by 5.7 percent. This also included hikes in the indexes for automobile retailing, truck transportation and freight, food and alcohol retailing, apparel, and bundled wired telecommunications access services. In contrast, the prices for fuels and lubricants experienced a decline of 9.8 percent.
Final Demand Goods: In January, the index for final demand goods rose by 0.6 percent, marking the fourth consecutive increase. More than half of this advance can be attributed to a 1.7 percent increase in prices for final demand energy. Additionally, the final demand index for food items increased by 1.1 percent. Notably, the index for diesel fuel contributed significantly to this rise, with a 10.4 percent increase. Other categories that saw price increases include eggs, beef, gas fuels, jet fuel, and communication-related equipment. In contrast, prices for vegetables experienced a significant decline of 22.3 percent.
The full PPI report can be found here.
