Health-Related Producer Prices Tame in July
The Producer Price Index (PPI) for July increased more than expected, but was still benign. Health-related producer prices were tame last month.
Prices for pharmaceutical preparations, which have increased faster than other producer goods in the long term (rising 9.4 percent since July 2014), finally turned around and actually dropped 0.4 percent last month (See Table I). This was a bigger decline than prices for all final demand goods (-0.1 percent) or for all final demand (0.2 percent).
The 12-month price changes for health-related producer prices still show them increasing faster than other prices. However, July’s PPI (unless it is idiosyncratic) is good news for consumers of medical products and services.
