Definition:
The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures the average price of a fixed basket of capital and consumer goods at the wholesale level. There are three primary publication structures for the PPI: industry; commodity; and stage-of- processing.
Importance:
It's important to monitor the PPI excluding food and energy prices for its monthly stability. This is referred as the "core PPI" and gives a clearer picture of the underlying inflation trend. Changes in the core PPI are considered a precursor of consumer price inflation. Inflationary pressure is generated when the core PPI posts larger-than-expected gains.
Source:
Bureau of Labor statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
Availability:
Around the 11th of each month at
Frequency:
Monthly.
Revisions:
Data for the prior three months are revised monthly to incorporate more complete information. New seasonal adjustment factors are introduced in February. This revision affects at least five years worth of data. Its significance is small.
Raw Data:
http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ppi.toc.htm
In The News:
BusinessWeek
CNNmoney
Fortune
Smart Money
Yahoo! News
