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U.S. import prices fell 0.5 percent in April, following a 0.2-percent decrease in March. Lower prices for both fuel and nonfuel imports contributed to the declines in each month. Prices for U.S. exports decreased 0.7 percent in April after a 0.5-percent decline in March.
1-month percent change in the Import and Export Price Indexes, April 2012–April 2013
Month
Import percent change
Export percent change
Apr 2012
-0.1
0.4
May 2012
-1.5
-0.5
Jun 2012
-2.3
-1.7
Jul 2012
-0.7
0.4
Aug 2012
1.2
0.9
Sep 2012
1.0
0.8
Oct 2012
0.3
0.1
Nov 2012
-0.7
-0.6
Dec 2012
-0.6
-0.1
Jan 2013
0.5
0.4
Feb 2013
0.9
0.7
Mar 2013
-0.2
-0.5
Apr 2013
-0.5
-0.7
Import prices fell 2.6 percent over the past 12 months, the largest year-over-year decline since a 3.3-percent decrease between July 2011 and July 2012. A decline in fuel prices, led by a 9.5-percent drop in petroleum prices, more than offset an 83.8-percent rise in natural gas prices. The price index for nonfuel imports fell 0.7 percent over the past 12 months.
12-month change in the Import and Export Price Indexes, April 2012–April 2013
Year
Import percent change
Export percent change
Apr 2012
0.8
0.7
May 2012
-0.8
-0.2
Jun 2012
-2.5
-2.1
Jul 2012
-3.3
-1.3
Aug 2012
-1.8
-0.9
Sep 2012
-0.6
-0.6
Oct 2012
0.0
1.5
Nov 2012
-1.4
0.8
Dec 2012
-2.0
1.1
Jan 2013
-1.5
1.2
Feb 2013
-0.6
1.5
Mar 2013
-2.2
0.2
Apr 2013
-2.6
-0.9
The 12-month decrease in export prices was led by lower nonagricultural prices, which more than offset rising agricultural prices over the past year. Nonagricultural export prices fell 1.5 percent for the year ended in April, the largest year-over-year decline since a 1.5-percent decrease in September 2012; in contrast, agricultural prices rose 4.2 percent for the year ended in April.
These data are from the BLS International Price program. To learn more, see “U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — April 2013” (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL‑13‑0927.
United States Department of Labor
