January import prices rose 0.1% and export prices grew 0.2%, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected import prices would be flat.
In December import prices rose 0.2%, originally reported as unchanged increase, and export prices posted an unrevised 0.4% increase.
Fuel prices dropped 0.6% in January, following a 1.3% jump in December. The January decline was led by a 1.2% slide in petroleum prices, which more than offset a 14.1% spike in natural gas prices.
Natural gas prices are up 67.3% in the past four months.
The price index for nonfuel imports grew 0.3% in January.
Prices for overall imports declined 1.5% for the year ended in January, while overall export prices declined 1.2% for the year ended in January.
