EPI Continues Steady Climb in June
To no one’s surprise, the increases in the Electrical Price Index’s Building Wire & Cable (+2.3%) and Power Wire & Cable (+0.8%) categories were driven by June’s copper market, volatility which drove prices over $3 per pound for most of the month. Most dramatic was the +19.6% year-over-year increase in Power Wire & Cable. Telephone supplies (+1.1%) and Ballasts (-1.7%) also saw some major monthly changes.
Note: All EPI series represent Global Insight aggregates of Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) producer price indices (PPIs). The revised data partly reflect redefinitions of specific PPIs by the BLS, but mostly reflect the rebenchmarking of all EPI price series to a 1997 base year. The four following EPI series have been affected by BLS redefinitions: boxes, conduit (fittings), nonmetallic conduit, and generators. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Global Insight