Import and export prices, May 2010

Over the 12-month period from May 2009 to May 2010, U.S. import prices rose 8.6 percent. Prices of overall imports have been up on a 12-month basis since declining 5.6 percent for the October 2008–09 period.

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The price index for overall exports rose 5.8 percent for the year ended in May, the largest 12-month advance since a 7.0-percent increase between September 2007 and September 2008.

Prices for fuel imports have trended up over most of the past year, rising 33.9 percent. The price indexes for petroleum and natural gas advanced for the year ended in May, rising 35.9 percent and 17.0 percent, respectively.

Prices of nonagricultural exports increased 6.2 percent over the May 2009-2010 period, led by an 18.0-percent increase for the price index of nonagricultural supplies and materials. Prices of agricultural exports advanced 1.3 percent over the past year.

These data are from the BLS International Price program. Import and export price data are subject to revision. To learn more, see "U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — May 2010" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-10-0811.