WASHINGTON - Import prices rose by 0.3% in July, while export prices declined 0.4%, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. That follows 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% increase in petroleum prices. "After falling for two months, oil prices turned higher in July," said economists at Nomura. Prices excluding petroleum rose 0.2%.
Food prices were up 0.5%, also helping drive up the July increase.
Automobile prices fell 0.3%, the first monthly drop in that category since December 2010 and the biggest decline since January 2010.
Imported consumer goods excluding autos showed a 0.4% increase. Capital goods import prices were flat.
Year over year, import prices rose 14%, the largest 12-month rise since August 2008.
Export prices fell 0.4%, largely due to a 4.3% drop in prices of agricultural goods. Non-agricultural prices of exports rose 0.2%.
