A report released by the Labor Department on Friday showed import prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of February.
The Labor Department said import prices rose by 0.3 percent in February after climbing by 0.8 percent in January. The uptick matched expectations.
The modest increase in import prices largely reflected a continued surge in prices for fuel imports, which shot up by 1.8 percent in February after jumping by 1.2 percent in January amid higher prices for petroleum and natural gas.
Prices for non-fuel imports also crept up by 0.2 percent in February after rising by 0.7 percent in January, as higher prices for consumer goods, foods, feeds, and beverages, capital goods and automotive vehicles more than offset lower prices for non-fuel industrial supplies and materials.
While import prices increased for two straight months for the first time since August-September 2023, prices were down by 0.8 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
“Despite higher fuel prices, monthly increases in the headline import price index decelerated sharply in February, signaling that January’s strong gain was not the start of a trend,” said Matthew Martin, U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.
He added, “The Fed will put more weight on the CPI and PPI reports earlier this week, which showed progress toward its target has slowed, but the February import price report lends some confidence that the impact on goods prices from recent supply disruptions and higher shipping costs may not be as severe as January’s report signaled.”
Meanwhile, the report said export prices climbed by 0.8 percent in February following an upwardly revised 0.9 percent increase in January.
Economists had expected export prices to edge up by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.8 percent advance originally reported for the previous month.
The much stronger than expected export price growth reflected higher prices for both agricultural and non-agricultural exports.
Prices for agricultural exports rebounded by 0.8 percent in February after slumping by 1.0 percent in January, while prices for non- agricultural exports increased by 0.8 percent in February after jumping by 1.1 percent in January.
Export prices in February were still down by 1.8 percent compared to the same month a year ago, although that represents the smallest year-over-year drop since a 0.8 percent decrease from February 2022 to February 2023.
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