Is Inflation Running Too Hot?

Last week, the BLS released PPI and CPI. Both of these numbers came in pretty hot, so it seems appropriate to look into the reports in some depth to see what's going on. Let's start with PPI, which is

A family of indexes that measure the average change over time in selling prices received by domestic producers of goods and services. PPIs measure price change from the perspective of the seller. This contrasts with other measures that measure price change from the purchaser's perspective, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Sellers' and purchasers' prices may differ due to government subsidies, sales and excise taxes, and distribution costs.

In other words, we're looking at this from the seller's perspective.

Let's go to the report:

The Producer Price Index for finished goods was unchanged in August, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Finished goods prices advanced 0.2 percent in July and declined 0.4 percent in June. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods decreased 0.5 percent in August, and the crude goods index moved up 0.2 percent. On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods increased 6.5 percent for the 12 months ended August 2011, the smallest year-over-year advance since a 5.6- percent rise in March 2011.