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Mix-Ansicht- PPI - CRASH_GURU, 19.04.2005, 16:14
PPI
-->Gas prices drove the PPI through the roof in March, up 0.7% on the month and up an untame 4.9% on the year.
But the rate excluding energy rose a much more tame 0.2%. The widely watched core rate that excludes both energy and food rose only 0.1% and is up a still manageable 2.6% on the year.
Energy prices jumped 3.3% in the month with gasoline up another 5.3% that followed a 5.2% jump in February.
Food prices also showed pressure, up 0.3% and reflecting a 10.1% jump in vegetable prices and a 1.8% rise in beef. The gains add onto a 0.8% jump in food prices during February. The data underscore growing warnings from the nation's restaurants that food costs have begun to rise sharply.
Vehicle prices were tame, down 0.2% for both cars and light trucks. Especially good news came from steel prices, which also showed declines.
Less tame, however, were readings at initial levels of production. Prices of crude goods excluding food & energy -- a key reading on the balance of supply and in the industrial economy -- rose a sharp 1.0% on the month but follow two months of sharp declines. The year-on-year rate is up only 3.3%.
Prices for intermediate goods showed more pressures, up 0.3% excluding food and & energy and up 7.6% on the year. Though price pressures are still evident early in the production chain, manufacturers have long been absorbing rising costs through productivity improvements.
The results were mixed as was the mild reaction to the data in the financial markets. The PPI continues to show pressure but not building pressure. The key question, as it has been for a year, is when high costs for energy and raw materials will begin driving up costs for consumer products. The CPI report tomorrow -- the biggest data of the week -- will offer the latest evidence.
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