In 2007, wholesale prices moved up 6.3 percent, compared with a 1.1 percent advance in 2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The faster rate was attributable to food and energy prices. The index for finiahed energy goods surged 18.4% in 2007, after falling 2 percent a year earlier. Prices for consumer foods jumped 7.4 percent following a 1.7 percent rise in 2006.
 
Core inflation advanced 2 percent in 2007, the same as in the preceding year.
 
At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods climbed 6.8 percent in 2007 after moving up 2.8 percent in the prior year, while the crude goods index jumped 20.6 percent following a 4.7-percent decrease in 2006.

Wholesale prices fell 0.1 percent in December. This decrease followed a 3.2-percent rise in November and a 0.1-percent advance in October.
 
At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods fell 0.2 percent in December after increasing 3.7 percent in the prior month, and the crude goods index moved up 1.0 percent following an 8.7-percent jump in November.
 
The downturn in prices for finished goods was led by the index for energy goods, which dropped 1.9 percent in December after climbing 14.1 percent in November. Prices for finished goods other than foods and energy (core inflation) rose 0.2 percent in December compared with a 0.4-percent advance in the preceding month.
 
By contrast, partially offsetting the downturn in the finished goods index, prices for finished consumer foods increased 1.3 percent following no change in November.

More details in this release.