PPIs jump for finished goods, construction; job losses shrink; Reed starts soar

The producer price index for finished goods spurted 1.2 percentin November, not seasonally adjusted (1.8 percent, seasonally adjusted), and 2.4 percent over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday [Dec.15]. A jump of 7 percent in the PPI for crude petroleum drove up both the finished-goods and construction indexes. Even aside from the oil-price leap, construction materials costs appear to have ended their slide, as shown by recent three-month trends. The PPI for inputs to construction industries, a weighted average of the cost of all materials used in residential and nonresidential construction plus items consumed by contractors, such as diesel fuel, climbed 0.6 percent for the month and was unchanged over three months despite falling 2.3 percent compared to November 2008, according to a Dec. 15 Data DIGest report.

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