--am going to have to give those blogs credit on research this time--appears they hit on the only thing (milk) that increased---probably due to cows bad attitude after reading their farts was responsible for global warming:mj07:
Lets take an
objective look at report out today for last month
ECONOMIC REPORT
Producer prices unexpectedly fall 0.2% in June
Core rate up 0.3% on increases in car, truck prices
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
Last Update: 8:45 AM ET Jul 17, 2007
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Wholesale prices fell 0.2% in June as food and energy prices declined after four months of hefty increases, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.
The producer price index fell for the first time since January, confounding economists' expectations for a 0.2% increase in prices for goods at the wholesale level. See Economic Calendar.
The PPI is up 3.3% in the past 12 months. Read the full report.
Food prices sank 0.8%, the second straight decline. Egg prices plunged 26%, while fresh fruit prices fell 15%. Dairy prices rose 6.3%.
Energy prices fell 1.1% as gasoline prices dropped 3.9%. Natural gas prices rose 2.6%.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core PPI rose 0.3%, a tenth higher than the 0.2% gain expected. It's the biggest gain since February.
The larger-than-expected gain in core prices was largely due to large increases in car and truck prices, which rose more than 1%. Prices of capital equipment rose 0.3%. Prices of consumer goods fell 0.4%.
Inflationary pressures were modest further back in the production cycle. Prices of crude goods rose 0.3%, while prices of intermediate goods destined for further processing rose 0.5%.
One key indicator of inflationary pressures fell to a three-year low. The core intermediate goods PPI rose 0.4% in June and was up just 2.8% in the past year, the smallest gain since February 2004.
The PPI is not the Fed's focus; the real issue is what consumer prices do. The PPI measures prices in the production pipeline, not at the retail level
The report comes one day before the more important consumer price index, which is expected to show 0.2% gains for both headline inflation and the core rate excluding food and energy prices.
The Fed monitors a different but related inflation measure produced by the Commerce Department, known as the personal consumption expenditure price index, which will be released at the end of the month.
The core PCE price index has now risen less than 2% in the past 12 months, within the Fed's unofficial "comfort zone." But the Fed has said that no "sustainable" moderation in inflation has been convincingly demonstrated, a clear signal that the Fed wants inflation not just to fall but to stay low.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke begins two days of testimony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. He's expected to hew closely to the Fed's well worn script that inflationary pressures remain the largest risk to a stable economy, despite worries about housing, credit markets and consumer spending. See full story.
The Fed has left interest rates unchanged for more than a year now and has signaled that interest rates could be steady at 5.25% for quite a while.
The PPI report fits into the Fed's analysis that firms have little power to pass on higher prices they are paying for key inputs such as energy, metals, chemicals and foodstuffs. But the danger is clearly evidence.
Prices of intermediate foods and feeds rose 1.6%, while prices of crude foodstuffs rose 0.5%.
Prices of crude industrial materials fell 0.2%.
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Interesting how you can have several items most good and one bad and the half empty crowd dwell on--what else- the negative
