First month-over-month decline in 10 months

A screen displays stock prices on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. [Getty Images]
A screen displays stock prices on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. [Getty Images]

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday that the producer price index for June fell 0.3 percent from the prior month.

It was the first month-over-month decline in the PPI since August last year, when it fell 0.2 percent. The index was up 5.5 percent from a year earlier.

The reading came in well below analysts' expectations of no change from the prior month. The PPI had risen 0.6 percent in May, making the June figure a 0.9 percentage point swing lower.

Excluding the volatile categories of energy, food and trade prices, the producer price index rose 0.1 percent from the prior month and 5.1 percent from a year ago.

The PPI measures changes in the raw material, labor and energy costs that businesses incur when producing goods. Because those costs feed through to final consumer goods prices with a lag, the index is widely regarded as a leading indicator for the consumer price index.


eyre@heraldcorp.com