Other Agricultural Chemicals PPI: From Index Changes to Budget Sensitivity
Other Agricultural Chemicals, down about 5.1% from a year ago. WPU0653 measures other agricultural chemicals. This page previously mislabeled it as industrial gases. It contains no industrial-gas price observation and must not be used to price oxygen, argon, nitrogen, hydrogen or a welding-gas mixture.
The BLS Other Agricultural Chemicals Producer Price Index (WPU0653) reads 208.53 index (1982=100) for Aug 2026, down about 5.1% from a year ago. The reference period identifies the observation; a later website refresh does not turn it into a daily price. This is a producer price index, not a delivered quote in dollars per unit.
WPU0653 measures other agricultural chemicals. This page previously mislabeled it as industrial gases. It contains no industrial-gas price observation and must not be used to price oxygen, argon, nitrogen, hydrogen or a welding-gas mixture.
Apply the change only to exposed spend
For a relevant agricultural chemical purchase, compare the specified formulation, concentration, packaging, handling and contract terms. For welding gas, use an actual gas supplier quote and measured consumption, including cylinder rental or bulk delivery charges where applicable.
A useful sensitivity is exposed spend × assumed index change × assumed pass-through. For example, $100,000 of genuinely benchmark-linked spend, a hypothetical 5% move and 60% pass-through produces a $3,000 change. Those are explicit example assumptions, not observed market values. Fixed-price spend, unmatched products and delivery charges should not automatically receive the same increase.
Keep physical efficiency separate
Yield, scrap, consumption and product price affect different parts of a cost calculation. Record them separately so an efficiency improvement is not counted twice or mistaken for an agency price move. Quote comparisons should use cost per accepted unit on the same specification and delivery basis.
This agricultural chemical price series is not a manufacturing activity gauge, a welding-cost benchmark or a measure of industrial-gas demand. Its direction cannot support any of those conclusions.
Source and update notes
The source is BLS series WPU0653, also published by FRED at https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WPU0653. The linked data page provides the current observation and available history. A successful refresh changes readings only when the source returns changed data. Missing or failed observations must retain their original periods and be reported as unavailable or delayed.