US wholesale prices for chemicals, resins fall in Oct

17 November 2009 14:52  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--US wholesale prices for chemicals and plastic resins fell in October from September, part of a general but modest overall decline in prices for finished goods at the producer level, the Labor Department said on Tuesday.

The department said that producer prices - also known as wholesale prices - for basic organic chemicals fell in October by 2.4% after showing relatively strong gains of 4.9% in September and 4.7% in August.

In plastic resins and materials, wholesale prices last month were down by 1.7%, nearly offsetting the 2.1% gain reported for September. Wholesale prices for plastic resins had fallen by 1.2% in August.

Overall, the department said that its closely watched producer price index (PPI) rose by 0.3% in October from September. All price movements are reported on a seasonally adjusted basis.

However, that gain in the October PPI was wholly attributed to increases in wholesale prices for fuels and food products, both of which rose by 1.6% last month.

In contrast, the department noted, producer prices for finished goods other than fuels and food fell by 0.6% during October.

Economists typically exclude energy products and foods when analyzing wholesale pricing because those two categories frequently experience sharp month-to-month price changes that can disproportionately affect the overall producer price index.

The PPI had shown a 0.6% decline in September, a 1.7% gain in August and a 1% drop in July.  In general, wholesale prices have been bouncing between small gains and losses since the beginning of this year.

The Labor Department collects wholesale pricing data on hundreds of intermediate and consumer goods, but it does not offer price shift analysis.

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