–March Rise In Total Import Prices Largest Since April 2011
–Import Prices Ex. Fuels Up 0.5%, Ex. Petroleum Up 0.3%
–Export Prices +0.8%, Agriculture Prices +2.7%, Non-Ag +0.5%

By Brai Odion-Esene and Ian McKendry

WASHINGTON (MNI) – U.S. prices for imported goods rose 1.3% in
March, the largest monthly rise since a 2.6% increase in April 2011, as
the price of imported fuels and non-fuels also rose at the fastest rate
since April last year, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

Total imports excluding both food and fuels rose 0.4% in the month
after the a 0.2% gain in February.

Import prices saw broad-based gains among the nonfuel categories,
with a large 1.7% increase in non-fuel industrial supplies and a 1.8%
jump in food import prices leading the way. There were also gains in the
prices of capital goods (+0.2%) and autos (+0.3%), while import prices
for consumer goods excluding automotives saw no change vs. February.

Total fuel import prices, which include petroleum as well as
natural gas, jumped 3.8% in the month. Not surprisingly, petroleum prices
rose 34.3%, but natural gas import prices plunged 14.2% — the largest
monthly drop since a 14.3% decline in March 2010.

Total import prices were up 3.4% year/year in March, a slowdown
from the 5.0% year/year rate in October and the smallest 12-month gain
since a 3.4% increase between November 2008 and November 2009.

Non-petroleum import prices were up 1.4% year/year and prices
excluding fuels were up 2.0% year/year.

Within the energy category, fuel prices were up 7.4% year/year,
while petroleum prices were up 9.6% over that period. Import prices for
natural gas plummeted between March 2011 and last month, down 37.8%, the
largest drop since -49.1% in October 2009.

Total export prices rose 0.8% in March, matching the largest
monthly increase seen in April 2011. Agricultural export prices rose
2.7% in the month but are down 5.5% from a year earlier.

Export prices for non-agricultural products were up 0.5% in March
on increases in the prices of consumer goods ex-autos (+0.3%),
industrial supplies (+1.2%), and capital goods (+0.2%). Prices of
exported autos rose 0.2%.

Total export prices rose 0.8% year/year, a slowdown from February’s
1.5% year/year rise. Non-agricultural export prices were up 1.7% over
the last 12 months.

The country data were generally higher. The price of imports from
Canada rose 1.2%, and were up 0.9% from the EU and up 1.1% from Mexico.
The price of imports from China were unchanged, as were the price of
imports from Japan.

** MNI Washington Bureau (202) 371-2121 **

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]