US producer index declines in October

The U.S. Producer Price Index for finished goods declined 0.2 percent in October for the second consecutive month, official data showed here Thursday. The Department of Labor indicated in a report that prices for finished goods fell 0.1 percent in September and rose 0.3 percent in August. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods declined 0.4 percent, and the crude goods index decreased 0. 9 percent. On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods advanced 0.3 percent for the 12 months ended October 2013 The Producer Price Index for crude materials for further processing declined 0.9 percent in October. For the three months ended in October, prices for crude goods fell 3.1 percent following a 3.6 percent rise for the three months ended in July. The monthly decrease in October was led by the index for crude energy materials, which moved down 2.9 percent. Lower prices for crude non-food materials less energy also contributed to the decline, falling 0.5 percent. By contrast, the index for crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs increased 1.2 percent, the report showed.