WASHINGTON - U.S. import prices rose 1.3% and export prices were up 0.8% in March after a revised decline in import prices of 0.1% in February, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
The February decrease was originally reported as a 0.4% gain.
The March increase, powered by increases in both fuel and non-fuel prices, was greater than the 0.8% median increase projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.
Prices of fuel imports rose 3.8% after being revised to unchanged in February, originally reported as a 1.4% gain. The sharp increase in fuel prices is the largest since a 7.6% climb in April 2011.
Non-fuel import prices increased 0.5% after also being revised to unchanged the previous month.
Year-over-year, import prices were up 3.4% for March, the smallest yearly increase for the index since it rose by the same amount between November 2008 and November 2009. The revised yearly gain for February was 5.0%, down from the 5.5% year over year change reported last month.
The export price increase was the largest monthly increase since a 0.8% gain in April 2011. Export prices rose an unrevised 0.4% in February. The March gain was led by a 2.7% increase in prices for agricultural exports and a 1.2% climb in the prices for industrial supplies and materials.
