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 February 2018 data shows the Midwest inflation rate increased from January to February for large and small uban metro areas.
The Producer Price Index data shows that prices in the United States have increased from February 2017 to February 2018 for aircraft (0.2 percent), slaughter livestock (8.6 percent), wheat (5.4 percent), sorghum (1.9 percent), natural gas (23.5 percent). During that same time period, the index decreased for petroleum (-7.3 percent).
