Rise in raw materials prices may presage higher PPI

By Tom Stundza -- Purchasing, 2/27/2008 11:50:00 AM

Inflation at the wholesale level soared in January, the government says, the same month that the Purchasing Magazine Commodity Price Index increased by a revised 1.4% to 215.0. Since the magazine’s commodity price index (100 = January, 1992) increased by another 5% this month to a record 225.6, it’s likely that the Labor Department’s Producer Price Index (PPI) for February will rise higher when reported than the 1% growth being reported for last month. Read the PDF.