WASHINGTON — Wholesale prices for U.S.-made apparel were flat in June compared with May and rose 0.2 percent compared with a year earlier, the Labor Department reported Thursday in its Producer Price Index.
In 12-month comparisons, prices for women’s apparel fell 0.3 percent and prices for men’s apparel rose 0.8 percent.
Prices for all goods and services fell a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent in June, following declines of 0.3 percent in May and 0.1 percent in April. Prices for so-called core goods, which exclude energy and food prices, rose 0.1 percent.
“There’s plenty of slack in the economy, growth is slowing and cost pressures are easing. Deflation, not inflation, is the primary risk now,” said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist for IHS Global Insight.
Related Articles
You May Also Like
Prices for domestically produced women’s apparel were either flat or declined in many categories. Women’s suits and pantsuits and jeans and slacks prices were flat in month-to-month and year-over-year comparisons. Prices for knit shirts and blouses were flat month-to-month, but dropped 2.7 percent in 12-month comparisons.
Men’s apparel prices showed year-to-year increases in many categories. Prices were flat month-to-month for men’s knit shirts, woven shirts and suits, but in 12-month comparisons they rose 1.8 percent, 1.5 percent and 1.5 percent respectively. Prices for men’s work clothing declined 0.5 percent in June, but rose 2.2 percent compared with a year earlier.
U.S.-made apparel fabric prices rose 0.3 percent in June and advanced 3.7 percent compared with a year earlier. Textile product mills, which make home furnishing fabric, saw prices decline 0.8 percent in June compared with May, but rise 1.3 percent in year-to-year comparisons.
Deeper in the pipeline, yarn prices fell 0.4 percent month-to-month, but spiked 9.2 percent compared with a year earlier. Synthetic fiber prices declined 2.5 percent in June and fell 2.9 percent year-over-year. Greige fabric prices rose 1.1 percent compared with a month earlier, and rose 2.1 percent in 12-month comparisons. Prices for finished fabrics rose 0.4 percent in June compared with May and advanced 2.9 percent compared with a year earlier.