U.S. import prices increased 0.9 percent in February, following a 0.4-percent advance the previous month. U.S. export prices rose 0.6 percent in February, after increasing 0.2 percent in January.
Import prices rose for the third consecutive month in February, led by higher fuel prices, which more than offset declining nonfuel prices. The index for import fuel increased 5.1 percent in February, the largest monthly advance for fuel prices since August 2012, when the index rose 6.1 percent. A 4.4-percent increase in petroleum prices and a 22.4-percent jump in natural gas prices both contributed to the overall advance in fuel prices. Natural gas prices have risen 120.5 percent since September 2013. Despite these increases, prices for overall imports decreased 1.1 percent over the year (February 2013–February 2014), after declining 0.6 percent the previous year (February 2012–February 2013).
Export prices rose 0.6 percent in February and have not recorded a monthly decline since a 0.6-percent drop in October 2013. The February 2014 increase was the largest monthly advance in export prices since a 0.7-percent rise in February 2013. Higher prices for both agricultural and nonagricultural exports contributed to the advance. Prices for agricultural exports advanced 1.7 percent in February, after decreasing 0.4 percent the previous month; the index for nonagricultural exports increased 0.6 percent, the largest monthly advance since a 0.6-percent rise in February 2013. Despite the recent increases, overall export prices fell 1.3 percent over the past 12 months.
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 — February 2014" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL‑14‑0391.
United States Department of Labor
