US DATA: Jan US import prices +1.5%, 12-mos +5.3%….

US DATA: Jan US import prices +1.5%, 12-mos cumulative +5.3%. New
category for Jan, ex food/fuels, +0.6%. Jan fuel imports +3.9%. Ex-fuels
+0.8% and ex-petroleum +1.1%. Petroleum +3.4%, nat gas +13.0%.
Foods/feeds +2.6%. Industrial supplies +3.3%. Autos +0.5%. Cap goods
+0.1%. For export prices +1.2%, 12-mos cumulative +6.8%. Ex food/fuels
+0.5%. Non-ag +0.9%; ag +3.2%; foods/feeds +3.6%. BLS specialist says
notable tick up for imports from China, with +0.3% last four months, for
a category historically stable. And with China, it’s all finished goods
which hits U.S. finished goods infl, he says. All told, tho, nothing
like the historic surges overall in 2008, which was followed by historic
declines. Jan, for a change, did not see a continuation of the world
cotton price spike that’s lasted over a year.