WASHINGTON — Import prices rose by 0.3% in July, while export prices declined 0.4%, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The moves follow a revised 0.6% decline in import prices in June.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected a 0.1% decline.
The index was driven up in part by a 0.6% gain in petroleum prices. “After falling for two months, oil prices turned higher in July,” economists at Nomura said. Prices excluding petroleum rose 0.2%.
Food prices rose 0.5%, also helping drive up the July increase.