The BLS released the March PPI report and that too show inflation moving in the wrong direction.
PRODUCER PRICE INDEXES - MARCH 2024
The Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.2 percent in March, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices moved up 0.6 percent in February and 0.4 percent in January. (See table A.) On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand increased 2.1 percent for the 12 months ended in March, the largest advance since rising 2.3 percent for the 12 months ended April 2023.
The March increase in the index for final demand is attributable to a 0.3- percent rise in prices for final demand services. In contrast, the index for final demand goods edged down 0.1 percent.
The index for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services moved up 0.2 percent in March after rising 0.3 percent in February. For the 12 months ended in March, prices for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services increased 2.8 percent.
Final Demand
Final demand services: The index for final demand services moved up 0.3 percent in March, the third consecutive rise. Leading the broad-based March increase, prices for final demand services less trade, transportation, and warehousing advanced 0.2 percent. The indexes for final demand trade services and for final demand transportation and warehousing services moved up 0.3 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. (Trade indexes measure changes in margins received by wholesalers and retailers.)
We took the data and created our own chart.
The bar shifting to the left (negative values) shows when inflation was abating and the bar shifting to the right (positive values) shows when inflation is starting to rise. There has been far more rising than declining inflation over the last 12 months.
If next month’s inflation report for either CPI or PPI is hot, we may very well be looking at rate hikes in our future rather than rate cuts. To find out what happens, stay tuned, stay profitable and stay solvent…