Import and export prices increase in 2010

U.S. import prices advanced 4.8 percent and export prices increased 6.5 percent in 2010.

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In 2010, import prices rose for the second consecutive year, increasing 4.8 percent after an 8.6-percent advance in 2009.

Prices for imported fuel rose 11.9 percent in 2010 after a 62.2-percent jump in 2009. The increase in 2010 was led by a 13.7-percent advance in petroleum prices, which more than offset an 11.3-percent drop in prices for natural gas.

Nonfuel prices rose 3.0 percent in 2010, primarily driven by a 12.0-percent increase in the price index for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials.

Export prices increased 6.5 percent in 2010 after a 3.4-percent rise the previous year. The 2010 advance was the largest calendar-year increase since the index was first published in December 1983.

Prices for agricultural exports rose 20.2 percent in 2010, the largest calendar-year increase since a 23.3-percent advance in 2007. While a 107.0-percent increase in cotton prices was the largest single factor for the rise in agricultural prices in 2010, higher prices for corn, wheat, soybeans, and meat also contributed to the advance.

Nonagricultural prices advanced 5.1 percent in 2010, the largest calendar-year increase for the index since December 1987. The 2010 increase was driven by a 13.5-percent advance in nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials prices.

These data are from the BLS International Price program. Import and export price data are subject to revision. For more information, see "U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — December 2010" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-11-0016.