Input Stories

The Producer Price Index for final demand (also known as wholesale prices) decreased 0.5% over the month in April, after remaining unchanged in March. Over the year, producer prices moved up 2.4%, coming in slightly lower than expectations. Meanwhile, prices for final demand excluding foods, energy and trade services edged down 0.1% over the month in April, the first decline since falling 0.8% in April 2020. On the other hand, prices for these goods still advanced 2.9% from April 2024.

In April, prices for final demand services declined 0.7%, which drove the decrease in the headline rate, while prices for final demand goods were unchanged. More than 40% of the decline in the final demand services index in April can be traced to a 6.1% decrease in margins for machinery and vehicle wholesaling. Meanwhile among the final demand goods prices, the index for general purpose machinery and equipment advanced 1.1%, and residential electric power and utility natural gas also moved up. On the other hand, prices for chicken eggs dropped 39.4% over the month in April, contributing to the decline in finished consumer foods.

Processed goods for intermediate demand rose 0.2% in April, following a 0.1% decrease in March. The increase can be attributed to a 0.5% rise in the index for processed materials less foods and energy, which more than offset price decreases for processed foods and feeds and processed energy goods, which fell 1.0% and 0.2%, respectively. Over the year, the index rose 0.5%, down from the 0.7% increase in March.

Meanwhile, prices for unprocessed goods for intermediate demand fell 3.2% in April. Nearly 60% of the April decline can be traced to a 5.0% drop in the prices for unprocessed energy materials. Additionally, the unprocessed foodstuffs and feedstuffs index decreased 3.8%. Despite the monthly declines, prices for unprocessed goods for intermediate demand were still up 1.7% from April 2024.