–Import Prices Ex. Petroleum +0.3%, Ex. Fuels +0.2%
–Export Prices +0.5%, Agriculture Prices +2.2%, Non-Ag +0.3%
By Kevin Kastner and Ian McKendry
WASHINGTON (MNI) – U.S. prices for imported goods fell 0.4% in
August, as the price of imported petroleum plunged 2.1% and the
remaining components rose 0.3% combined, the Labor Department reported
Tuesday.
Import prices excluding fuels, a broader measure of the energy
category, rose 0.2%. Total imports excluding both food and fuels rose
0.3%.
Import prices were mixed among the nonfuel categories, with sharp
declines in the prices of industrial supplies and food offset by price
increases for consumer good and capital goods. The price index for
automotive imports was flat.
Total fuel import prices, which include petroleum as well as
natural gas, fell 1.8% in the month. Natural gas import prices were up
3.3% in August.
Despite the August decline, total import prices were still up 13.0%
year/year. Non-petroleum prices were 5.5% year/year and prices excluding
fuels were up 5.3% year/year.
Within the energy category, fuel prices were up 41.1% year/year,
while petroleum prices were up 43.5% over that period.
Export prices rose 0.5% in August. Agricultural export prices up
2.2% in the month and were up 23.9% from a year earlier.
Export prices for non-agricultural products were only 0.3% in
August on gains in every category except a flat reading for capital
goods.
Total export prices rose 9.6% year/year, while non-agricultural
export prices were up 8.1% over the same period.
The country data were mixed. The price of imports from Canada fell
0.2%, and were down 0.1% from the EU and down 0.9% from Mexico. However,
the price of imports from China rose 0.1% and were up 0.2% from Japan.
** Market News International Washington Bureau (202) 371-2121
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