September Import Prices Rise 0.3%, Beat Projection

U.S. Import prices rose 0.3% in September after falling a revised 0.2% in August, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The September figure was better than the 0.3% median decline projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

Despite the gain following a decline, the Labor Department said that import prices have shown little change over the past five months.

The increase for September reflected gains in prices for imports of nonfuel industrial supplies and materials, which were up 0.7%, and in food, feed and beverage prices, which were up 0.5%. Prices for imports of consumer goods rose 0.3%, but were down 48% for imports of natural gas.

Year over year, import prices for September were up 13.4% after a revised 13.0% increase for August.

Export prices rose 0.4%, after a 0.5% increase in August. The September gain was led by prices for exports of food, feed and beverages, which were up 2.0%, and agricultural exports, which were up 1.6%.

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