The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released May 19 Producer Price Indexes (PPI) today. The All commodities index decreased 0.3% over the last month & declined by 0.8% over the last year on a seasonally unadjusted basis. Industrial commodities less fuels was unchanged between April – May ’19 & rose by 0.7% between May ’18 – ’19. Sporting and athletic goods increased by 5.8% over the last month & rose by 7.5% over the last year. Specialty canning increased by 4.3% between April – May 2019 & rose by 7.2% between May ’18 – ’19. Other industrial safety equipment which includes Personal safety equipment & clothing increased 1.3% over the last month & rose by 5.9% over the last year. Prepared paint increased by 1.2% between April – May 2019 & rose by 5.6% between May ’18 – ’19. Lighting fixtures increased by 0.7% over the last month & rose by 5.5% over the last year. Household appliances increased 0.6% between April – May 2019 & rose by 4.5% between May ’18 – ’19. Soft drinks increased 0.4% over the last month & rose by 6.6% over the last year. Dental equipment and supplies increased by 0.3% between April – May 2019 & rose by 7.7% between May ’18 – ’19. All inflation rates mentioned are seasonally unadjusted.
PPI Historical Inflation Averages
Historical annual inflation rate averages through May 2019 for all 2 and 3-digit PPI commodity groupings are listed below (capitalized category description denotes a Major BLS PPI Commodity Group i.e. IPIC pool):
