falling 3.5% in June. Prices for copper and brass mill shapes and for plywood also turned up in July. The indexes for softwood lumber and for building paper and board decreased less than they had in the previous month. By contrast, prices for aluminum mill shapes fell 2.3% after rising 2.4% in June. The index for secondary aluminum also turned down in July following a gain in the previous month. Prices for semifinished steel mill products, cold finished steel bars, and unprocessed filament yarns increased less than they had in June.
Prices for materials and components for construction increased 0.7 percent in July after climbing 0.3% in June. The index for concrete products advanced 1.4% following a 0.2% gain in the prior month. Softwood lumber prices declined less in July than they had a month earlier. The indexes for plastic construction products, plumbing fixtures and brass fittings, and plywood turned up after falling in the preceding month. Alternatively, prices for wiring devices climbed 0.2% in July following a 1.4% increase in June. The index for air conditioning and refrigeration equipment also rose less than it had in the preceding month, and prices for nonferrous wire and cable fell more than in June.
Crude goods
The Producer Price Index for Crude Materials for Further Processing increased 3.1% in July following a 1.7% decrease in June. Prices for crude energy materials rose after falling in the previous month. By contrast, the indexes for crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs and for crude nonfood materials less energy advanced less in July than they had in the preceding month.
The index for crude energy materials turned up 4.8% after decreasing 6.8% in June. Leading this upturn, the natural gas index rose 1.2% following a 10.8% drop in the prior month. Crude petroleum prices moved up 9.4% in July after a 3.7% decline a month earlier. The index for coal increased 0.6% following no change in the preceding month.
The crude nonfood materials less energy index increased 1.3% following a 1.7% advance in the preceding month. In July, rising prices for wastepaper; construction sand, gravel, and crushed stone; gold ores; and miscellaneous metal ore mining outweighed falling prices for iron and steel scrap, copper base scrap, aluminum base scrap, and raw cotton.
For more details on July’s Producer Price Index, click here.
The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods moved up 0.1% in July, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This increase followed a 0.5% advance in June and a 0.2% rise in May. Prices for finished goods other than foods and energy decreased 0.3% in July after moving up 0.2% in the previous month. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods advanced 0.5% compared with a 0.7% gain in June. The index for crude materials climbed 3.1% after declining 1.7% in the prior month.
In July, a 1.3% increase for finished energy goods prices slightly outweighed declines of 0.3% for finished goods less foods and energy and for finished consumer foods.
Finished goods
The finished energy goods index increased 1.3% in July compared with a 0.7% rise in June. Prices for residential electric power advanced 1.8% following a 2.8% decline in the previous month. The indexes for residential natural gas and lubricating grease also turned up after declining in June. Prices for liquefied petroleum gas rose more than they had a month earlier. By contrast, the gasoline index gained 0.7% after climbing 6.3% in June. Prices for home heating oil, diesel fuel, and kerosene turned down in July.
The index for finished goods other than foods and energy declined 0.3% in July after edging up 0.2% a month earlier. Prices for light motor trucks decreased 3.1% compared with a 0.4% advance in June. he indexes for passenger cars, pharmaceutical preparations, civilian aircraft, mobile homes, newspaper circulation, railroad equipment, and for integrating and measuring instruments also turned down in July.
Intermediate goods
The index for Intermediate Materials, Supplies, and Components increased 0.5% in July after advancing 0.7% in June. Prices for materials for nondurable manufacturing and for intermediate foods and feeds rose less than they had in June, while the index for intermediate energy goods turned down in July. By contrast, prices for materials for durable manufacturing and for materials and components for construction increased more in July than they had in the preceding month. The index for intermediate goods less foods and energy moved up 0.7% after rising 0.8% in June.
The materials for nondurable manufacturing index edged up 0.2% in July following a 1.0% gain in the preceding month. Prices for primary basic organic chemicals increased 2.2% after advancing 5.4 percent in June. The indexes for plastic resins and materials, paperboard, and synthetic fibers also rose less in July than they had in the prior month. Prices for intermediate basic organic chemicals, paper, and nitrogenates turned down following increases a month earlier. Conversely, the index for finished fabrics moved up 0.6% in July after decreasing 0.2% in June. Prices for phosphates also advanced following declines in the previous month.
Prices for intermediate energy goods inched down 0.1% in July after rising 0.4% in the prior month. Diesel fuel prices dropped 5.0% following a 5.4% advance in June. The indexes for jet fuel, residual fuel, and home heating oil also turned down in July. Prices for gasoline increased less than they had in June. By contrast, the industrial natural gas index moved up 2.9% in July after declining 7.3% in June. Prices also turned up in July for commercial natural gas and natural gas to electric utilities. The index for liquefied petroleum gas rose more than it had in June.
Prices for materials for durable manufacturing advanced 2.3% in July following a 1.1% gain in the prior month. The index for primary nonferrous metals jumped 11.4% after
