WASHINGTON - Import prices rose 1.1% in December as fuel costs increased, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
Total export prices increased 0.7% last month. For the year, export prices increased 6.5%, the largest calendar-year gain since the Labor Department started the index in 1983.
Nonfuel imports increased 0.3% and imports excluding petroleum increased 0.4%.
Fuel import prices gained 4.1% for the month. For the quarter ending Dec. 31, fuel imports increased 13.1%, the largest increase since the third quarter of 2009.
Economists expected import prices would increase 1.2%, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters. Import prices for November were revised higher to a 1.5% increase from 1.3% reported last month.
Import prices rose 3.7% in the fourth quarter, the largest quarterly increase since the second quarter of 2009. For 2010, import prices increased 4.8%.
Industrial supply and material import prices increased 2.8%. Import prices from China and Japan increased 0.3% in December. For the year, import prices from China rose 0.8% after a 1.8% decline in 2009.
Import price figures are the first of three monthly inflation reports released by the Labor Department. The producer price index will be released on Thursday and the consumer price index comes out on Friday.
