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NAW: Producer Price Index Reaction

18 October 1999

NAW: Producer Price Index Reaction

  Statement by Ron Schreibman, Vice President of the National Association of
Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), in Response to Release Today of September 1999
                      Producer Price Index (PPI) Figures

    WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 -- Statement by Ron Schreibman, Vice
President of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), in
response to release of September 1999 Producer Price Index (PPI)
figures:

    "Most economists expected a sharp increase in producer prices, but not
this sharp. Inflation at the producer level is up markedly not just over the
past month, but over the past year, as well.
    "Despite the fact that a relative handful of items drove last month's
price elevation -- cars, tobacco, and energy -- businesses should prepare now
for the prospect of higher interest rates in the months ahead."

    NAW is a federation of 110 national commodity line associations
representing more than 40,000 firms in the wholesale distribution industry.