In September, U.S. import prices advanced 0.2 percent for the second consecutive month and export prices rose 0.3 percent after falling the previous 6 months.
The September and August increases in import prices were led by rising fuel prices. The index for import fuel rose 0.6 percent in September after advancing 1.6 percent in August. An increase of 0.8 percent in petroleum prices, the largest component of imported fuels, more than offset a 6.9-percent drop in natural gas prices. Despite the September increase, fuel prices have fallen 0.2 percent over the past 12 months, led by a 0.4-percent drop in petroleum prices. Natural gas prices, by contrast, increased 8.3 percent over the past year.
The 0.3-percent rise in export prices in September is the largest monthly increase since a 0.7-percent advance in February. Higher nonagricultural and agricultural prices each contributed to the September increase. Between September 2012 and September 2013, however, export prices fell 1.6 percent, the largest year-over-year decline since the index fell 2.1 percent between June 2011 and June 2012.
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 — September 2013" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL‑13‑2036.
United States Department of Labor
