BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2002: RELEASED TODAY: The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 1.0 percent in March, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. This increase followed a 0.2 percent increase in February and a 0.1 percent rise in January. The intermediate goods index advanced 1.0 percent in March, after dropping 0.1 percent in the prior month. Prices received by producers of crude goods rose 4.0 percent, following a 0.8 percent decline in February.
Wholesale prices shot up 1 percent in March, lifted by the largest jump in gasoline costs in nearly 3 years. The big advance in the Producer Price Index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach consumers, comes after wholesale prices edged up 0.2 percent in February, the Labor Department reported today. The jolt last month largely came from a sharp increase in energy prices, especially gasoline. That caused the overall reading on wholesale inflation to be worse than the 0.7 percent increase many analysts were bracing for. In another report, sales at the nation's retailers rose a modest 0.2 percent in March for the second month in a row, the Commerce Department said (Jeannine Aversa, Associated Press, http://www.nandotimes.com/business/story/357446p-2905766c.html). Prices of goods imported into the U.S. in March rose at the fastest pace in 1 1/2 years, led by a surge in oil prices that may restrain consumer spending and economic growth. The 1.1 percent increase in the import price index, reflecting the biggest gain in energy costs since April 1999, followed a 0.1 percent drop in February, the Labor Department said (Bloomberg News, Reuters, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-000026024apr12.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines% 2Dbusiness). Surging oil prices pushed up imported goods at their fastest pace in 18 months in March, highlighting how energy costs are a new restraint on the still young economic recovery. Other data showed hiring and capital spending plans remain weak. Overall import prices rose 1.1 percent in March, after falling 0.1 percent in February, the Labor Department said yesterday, as petroleum prices climbed 15.7 percent, the biggest surge in nearly 3 years. Nonpetroleum prices, however, were unchanged. Export prices rose for the first time in 6 months, climbing 0.3 percent. March's climb in crude prices mostly reflected strengthening global demand as the U.S. and its trading partners pull out of recession. Prices have risen further this month with the violence in the Middle East, though they have erased part of that increase. Many economists say higher energy costs will sap household purchasing power and erode profit margins, but doubt that the economy will fall back into recession as a result. The impact of inflation is expected to be transitory. Separately, the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, an Arlington, Va. business research group, said its March survey of 57 senior financial executives at big manufacturers found just 12 percent plan to boost capital spending this year, the lowest proportion in more than 2 years (The Wall Street Journal, page A2). U.S. consumers kept spending in March but at only a modest rate, the Commerce Department said today in a report that hinted the economy's pace of recovery from recession is likely to be a measured one. Retail sales rose 0.2 percent in March, matching a downwardly revised 0.2 percent gain in February. Previously, February sales had been reported as up 0.3 percent. March sales excluding autos were up a slightly stronger 0.4 percent, while February purchases outside the auto sector were revised to unchanged from a 0.2 percent gain (Reuters, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37217-2002Apr12.html). Wealthy consumers stepped up their buying in March, resulting in better-than-expected sales for some high-end sellers and offering new hope for an overall economic recovery. Menswear, another long-suffering part of the retail business, also saw a bit of a pickup, retailers said yesterday. In addition to gains reported earlier by some key large jewelry store chains and apparel manufacturers -- and continued strong results from discount retailers -- Tuesday's reports seemed to offer new evidence of a steady improvement for retailers, a key indicator for the broader economy (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-000026053apr12.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines %2Dbusiness).
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