Import prices rose 0.7% in March, the seventh gain in eight months, as petroleum prices increased, while export prices also rose 0.7% in the month, the Labor Department reported yesterday.
Import prices excluding petroleum fell 0.2%, the first decline since July. All non-fuel imports rose 0.2% in March and have risen for eight consecutive months.
Imported fuel prices rose 2.9% in March and the price of petroleum imports increased 4.0%, the largest increase since November. The turnaround in petroleum costs, which fell in February, contributed to 80% of the rise in total import prices.
Economists expected import prices to rise 0.9%, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters. February’s import prices were revised to a 0.2% decline from a 0.3% dip reported initially.
For the 12 months ending in March, import prices rose 11.4%, equaling January’s year-over-year figure for the largest annual increase since September 2008.
Non-petroleum industrial supplies and materials fell 0.7%, the first decline in this index since July. Capital goods import prices fell 0.4%, the largest decline in a year. Auto import prices fell 0.6% for the three months ending in March.
