following a 0.9-percent rise in March.&nbsp ; Price increases for fertilizer materials slowed to a 4.2-percent rate in April from 12.7 percent in the previous month.&nbsp ; The ethanol index also moved up less than it had in March.&nbsp ; Prices for plastic resins and materials, intermediate basic organic chemicals, finished fabrics, and rock salt declined in April after advancing in the preceding month.&nbsp ; By contrast, the index for primary basic organic chemicals climbed 1.4 percent following a 0.5-percent increase in March.&nbsp ; Prices for alkalies and chlorine and for processed yarns and threads turned up in April after decreasing a month earlier.
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Crude goods
The Producer Price Index for Crude Materials for Further Processing fell 1.5 percent in April following a 3.2-percent advance in March.&nbsp ; Prices for crude energy materials turned down after rising in the preceding month. The indexes for crude nonfood materials less energy and for crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs increased less in April than they had in March.
The index for crude nonfood materials less energy increased 0.4 percent in April following a 7.7-percent advance in the preceding month. In April, higher prices for copper base scrap, gold ores, aluminum base scrap, and for construction sand, gravel, and crushed stone outweighed price declines for iron and steel scrap, wastepaper, and pulpwood. equipment index moved up 0.1 percent following a 0.1-percent decrease in March.&nbsp ; Prices for heavy motor trucks rose 3.8 percent after no change in the previous month.&nbsp ; The indexes for communication and related equipment and for printing trades machinery also advanced in April following no change a month earlier.&nbsp ; The light motor trucks and electronic computers indexes fell less than they had in the preceding month.&nbsp ; Prices for commercial furniture increased after declining in the prior month. Conversely, the passenger cars index turned down 1.0 percent following a 0.2-percent advance in March.&nbsp ; Prices for civilian aircraft decreased after no change a month earlier.&nbsp ; The indexes for transformers and power regulators and for integrating and measuring instruments fell following increases in the previous month.
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Intermediate goods
The Producer Price Index for Intermediate Materials, Supplies, and Components increased 0.9 percent in April following a 1.0-percent rise in March.&nbsp ; The April advance in intermediate goods prices was broad-based, with the indexes for materials for durable manufacturing, energy goods, materials and components for construction, foods and feeds, and materials for nondurable manufacturing all moving up from their March levels.&nbsp ; Prices for intermediate goods less foods and energy climbed 0.8 percent in April after edging up 0.2 percent in the prior month.
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The index for materials for durable manufacturing jumped 3.7 percent in April following a 1.1-percent increase in the preceding month.&nbsp ; Prices for copper and brass mill shapes surged 15.8 percent after rising 1.7 percent in March.&nbsp ; The indexes for primary nonferrous metals; hot rolled steel sheet and strip; hot rolled steel bars, plates, and structural shapes; and cold rolled steel sheet and strip also advanced more in April than they had a month earlier.&nbsp ; Prices for titanium mill shapes turned up following declines in March.&nbsp ; By contrast, partially offsetting the acceleration in durable manufacturing materials prices, the prepared paint index moved down 0.8 percent in April following a 2.0-percent increase in March.&nbsp ; Prices for thermoplastic resins and flat glass also turned down in April.
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The index for intermediate energy goods rose 1.3 percent in April after climbing 4.1 percent in the previous month.&nbsp ; Diesel fuel prices advanced 1.7 percent compared with an 8.8-percent gain in March.&nbsp ; Gasoline prices also moved up less than they had in March.&nbsp ; The indexes for jet fuel, natural gas to electric utilities, residual fuel, and both industrial and commercial natural gas moved down in April after increasing a month earlier.&nbsp ; By contrast, the index for commercial electric power rose 1.0 percent in April following a 0.4-percent decline in the preceding month. Prices for industrial electric power also advanced after decreasing in March.
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The index for materials and components for construction increased 0.6 percent in April following a 0.3-percent rise in the prior month.&nbsp ; Prices for nonferrous wire and cable surged 8.4 percent after falling 2.2 percent in March.&nbsp ; The indexes for plastic construction products, wiring devices, and heating equipment also turned up in April following declines a month earlier.&nbsp ; Prices for steel mill products and for paving mixtures and blocks moved up at faster rates than they had in March.&nbsp ; Conversely, the concrete products index was unchanged in April following a 0.8-percent advance in the preceding month.&nbsp ; Prices for fabricated structural metal products also were unchanged after rising in March.&nbsp ; The indexes for asphalt felts and coatings and for architectural coatings turned down in April.
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The index for materials for nondurable manufacturing inched up 0.1 percent in April
The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 0.7 percent in April, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported.&nbsp ; This advance followed a 1.0-percent rise in March and a 1.3-percent increase in February.&nbsp ; In April, the index for finished goods excluding foods and energy remained unchanged for the second consecutive month.&nbsp ; At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods rose 0.9 percent following a 1.0-percent increase a month earlier, and the crude goods index fell 1.5 percent after increasing 3.2 percent in March.

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Among finished goods, prices for consumer foods moved up 0.4 percent in April following a 1.4-percent increase in the previous month, while the consumer goods less foods and energy index turned down 0.1 percent after advancing 0.1 percent in the preceding month.&nbsp ; Prices for energy goods rose less in April than they had a month earlier -3.4 and 3.6 percent, respectively.&nbsp ; By contrast, the capital equipment index edged up 0.1 percent after decreasing 0.1 percent in March, slightly counteracting the deceleration in finished goods prices.
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Before seasonal adjustment, the Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 1.0 percent in April to 165.8 (1982 = 100).&nbsp ; From April 2006 to April 2007, finished goods prices rose 3.2 percent.&nbsp ; Over the same period, the index for finished consumer foods advanced 7.7 percent, prices for finished goods less foods and energy increased 1.5 percent, and the finished energy goods index rose 3.7 percent.&nbsp ; For the 12 months ended in April 2007, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods advanced 3.7 percent, and the crude goods index jumped 11.1 percent.
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Finished goods
The index for finished consumer foods advanced 0.4 percent in April following a 1.4-percent increase in the prior month.&nbsp ; The fresh and dry vegetables index rose 8.9 percent compared with a 13.5-percent jump in March.&nbsp ; Prices for beef and veal and for dairy products also rose less than they had a month earlier.&nbsp ; The index for sausages and deli meats turned down after advancing in the previous month, while prices for finfish and shellfish decreased more than they had in March.&nbsp ; Conversely, partially offsetting the deceleration in finished consumer foods prices, the fresh fruits and melons index declined 2.8 percent following a 7.5-percent fall a month earlier.&nbsp ; Prices for pork also fell less than they had in the preceding month.&nbsp ; The indexes for processed young chickens and soft drinks rose more than they had in March.&nbsp ; Prices for confectionery end products turned up after declining a month earlier.
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The index for finished consumer goods less foods and energy turned down 0.1 percent following a 0.1-percent increase in the previous month. The passenger cars index fell 1.0 percent after rising 0.2 percent in March.&nbsp ; Prices for pharmaceutical preparations, household appliances, pet food, and mobile homes also decreased in April following increases in the preceding month.&nbsp ; Prices for alcoholic beverages rose less than they had a month earlier. By contrast, the light motor trucks index moved down 0.5 percent after decreasing 1.2 percent in the prior month.&nbsp ; Prices for household furniture and sanitary paper products turned up in April following declines in the previous month.&nbsp ; The index for motor homes rose after no change in March.
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The finished energy goods index advanced 3.4 percent subsequent to a 3.6-percent rise a month earlier.&nbsp ; In April, increasing prices for gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, home heating oil, residential electric power, residential natural gas, and diesel fuel outweighed decreasing prices for lubricating and similar oils and for asphalt.
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The capital