Washington, DC, August 15, 2006--Inflationary pressures at the wholesale level eased in July, but price pressures mounted for goods midway through the production process, according to Labor Department data released Tuesday
The producer price index for finished goods rose 0.1% in July, below the 0.3% gain expected.
The core PPI--which excludes food and energy prices - fell 0.3%, the first decline since October.
Economists expected the core rate to rise 0.2%.
For intermediate goods destined for further processing before final sale, prices rose 0.5% in July.
Core intermediate goods prices rose 0.7%, bringing the year-over-year increase to 7.9%, the most since February 2005. Prices of crude materials rose 3.1%.
