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 October 2013 data shows the Midwest inflation rate decreased from September to October for urban metros with more than 1.5 million people, but remained the same for urban metros with a population of less than 1.5 million people, as well as non-metro urban areas.
The Producer Price Index data shows that prices in the United States have increased from October 2012 to October 2013 for aircraft (1.6 percent), crude petroleum (7.7 percent), natural gas (15.9 percent), and slaughter livestock (8.2 percent). During that same time period, sorghum prices decreased 41.7 percent and wheat prices decreased 14.1 percent.
