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 May 2014 data shows the Midwest inflation rate decreased from April to May in urban metros, but increased slightly in non-metro urban areas.
The Producer Price Index data shows that prices in the United States have increased from May 2013 to May 2014 for aircraft (2 percent), crude petroleum (3.8 percent), natural gas (12.1 percent), slaughter livestock (17.7 percent) and wheat (3.1 percent). During that same time period, sorghum prices decreased 26.6 percent.