(March 18, 2008) – This morning the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Producer Price Indexes – February 2008 report. The February number was better than last month, but the 12 month number is still huge.
The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods rose 0.3% in February, seasonally adjusted, following a 1.0% advance in January and a 0.3% decline in December. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods moved up 0.8% in February subsequent to a 1.4% advance in January, and the crude goods index rose 3.7% after climbing 2.5% in the prior month.
Within finished goods, energy goods increased 0.8% in February compared with a 1.5% gain in the previous month. Prices for consumer foods declined 0.5% following a 1.7% rise in January. The index for finished goods other than foods and energy moved up 0.5% in February after increasing 0.4% a month earlier.
The index for finished energy goods increased 0.8% in February after rising 1.5% in January. Unleaded gasoline prices increased 2.8% in February after 4.3% last month. Diesel fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and home heating oil fell in February. By contrast, residential natural gas prices rose 5.7% following a 0.7% gain in January.
The index for intermediate energy goods increased 1.1% in February after rising 2.8% in January. Diesel fuel prices advanced 0.9% in February following a 5.9% jump in the prior month. Prices for jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, home heating oil, and residual fuel turned down in February. Conversely, the utility natural gas index climbed 6.8% after inching up 0.1% in January.
The crude energy materials index increased 5.6% in February after rising 1.8% in the prior month. Natural gas prices jumped 11.5% compared with a 0.7% gain a month earlier. Crude petroleum prices moved up 0.6% after increasing 2.7% in the preceding month, and coal prices rose 1.0 percent following a 3.9% advance in January.
Bottom line–it’s all oil. And the Fed does not print oil.
JR
