The Consumer Price Index is used to calculate inflation, or the change in price of a basket of goods and services, as it impacts consumers; whereas, the Producer Price Index measures changes in selling prices, thereby expressing price changes from the perspective of the seller who produces a particular commodity.
A slide presentation updated with December 2015 data shows the Midwest inflation rate decreased from November to December in urban metros and in non-metro areas.
The Producer Price Index data shows that prices in the United States have increased from December 2014 to December 2015 for aircraft (0.6 percent). During that same time period, the index decreased for sorghum (26.1 percent), crude petroleum (43.6 percent), natural gas (49.1 percent), slaughter livestock (25.7 percent), and wheat (25.5 percent).
