Yes, overall inflation is a bit lower overall being the key word there.

Well, a bit lower is important too, I guess, right?

From American public media, this is Marketplace.

In Los Angeles, I'm Kai Rizdole.

It is Tuesday to day, I believe the 15th of November.

Good as always to have you along, everybody.

You know, one tempts fate.

One does when one makes an economic prediction.

All the more so nowadays when things are still uncertain as they are.

But we did get another inkling this morning that may be just.

Just may be inflation is easing up a tad.

The producer price index for October came out this morning.

What retailers have to pay for the wholesale goods and services they buy so that they can do business with us.

Up just two tenths of one percent month to month, up eight percent from a year ago,

the lowest year on your number since last July.

But just because an index, the producer price index, right?

Just because that goes down overall doesn't mean every item in it is down as well.

Industrial metals is the topic to sure.

US copper futures saw their biggest one day percentage gain in more than a decade,

not too terribly long ago, zinc, tin, aluminum, they are getting more expensive again as well.

Marketplace's end of Mueller starts us off.

For a while now there's been a term in investment circles for one particular industrial metals ability to predict the overall health of the economy.

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