WASHINGTON - U.S. import prices fell 0.1% in December, while export priced dropped 0.5%, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The December import price decline matched the 0.1% median decrease projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.
Import prices for November were revised to show a 0.8% rise from the previous month.
The decrease in import prices in December reflected a 0.5% fall in fuel imports. Petroleum import prices fell 0.4% and natural gas prices saw a 4.9% decrease.
Year over year, import prices for December were up 8.5% while they were up 10.1% year over year for November.
Export prices fell 0.5% in December, after rising 0.1% in November. The December decrease was a product of falling agricultural export prices, which declined 2.6%.
