WASHINGTON - Import prices fell 0.4% in August, while export prices rose 0.5%, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. That follows an unrevised 0.3% increase in import prices in July.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected a 0.8% decline.
The August import price index was pulled down by a 2.1% fall in the price of petroleum imports. Natural gas prices, however, rose 3.3%. Prices excluding petroleum were up 0.3%.
Food prices were down 0.8%. Imported auto prices showed no change. Consumer goods excluding autos increased 0.3%.
Non-petroleum industrial supplies and materials imports showed a 1.0% increase with capital goods up 0.1%.
Year over year, import prices for August were up 13.0% after a revised 13.8% July increase.
Export prices rose 0.5%, with agricultural prices rising 2.2%, based mostly on higher prices for corn, soybeans and wheat. Agricultural prices have risen 23.9% over the last 12 months primarily led by a 73.7% increase in corn prices. Food export prices also showed a substantial rise, up 3.4%. Non-agricultural export prices overall rose 0.3%.
