The Producer Price Index for finished goods increased 0.7% in March 2011. The PPI measures prices obtained for U.S. goods. Intermediate goods prices increased 1.5% and crude or raw materials prices dropped -0.5% after rising 3.4% in February. PPI is often called wholesale inflation by the press.
The reason finished goods prices increased was energy, up 2.6% in one month. The report notes almost 90% of the wholesale price increase was energy, which includes gas prices. Gas alone rose 5.7% in one month and by itself, was 80% of the finished goods wholesale increase. Food, on the other hand, dropped -0.2%, but these are wholesale prices, so demanding $9 bucks for 10 ounces of some frozen food item heavily advertised on TV will probably remain that high.
Core PPI or finished goods minus food and energy, increased 0.3% for March 2011. There was a 0.7% light truck price increase in core PPI and this was 33% of the total core PPI monthly increase.