Posted by Joseph Y. Calhoun, III

Producer prices rose 0.3% last month:

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 0.3 percent in October, seasonally
adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This increase followed a 0.6-percent decline in September and a 1.7-percent rise in August. In October, at the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods moved up 0.3 percent and the crude goods index increased 5.4 percent. On an unadjusted basis, from October 2008 to October 2009, prices for finished goods fell 1.9 percent, the eleventh consecutive month of year-over-year declines.

There is more inflation in the pipeline; crude goods were up 5.4%. That will either translate into higher prices, lower profit margins or more job losses none of which falls in the good category.