International

U.S. Import Prices Rose In February

Prices of goods imported into the U.S. moved up in February, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Import prices rose 0.6% in February from the prior month. Unlike other price measures produced by the government, import prices are not seasonally adjusted. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 0.4% increase from January.

From a year earlier, import prices were down 1.3%.

Much of the recent movement in import prices is due to volatile fuel prices, which rose 4.9% in February from the previous month but which are still down 6.5% on the year. Petroleum prices fell 7.9% from a year ago but were partly offset by natural gas prices, which rose 17.5%.

Nonfuel import prices were unchanged in February from January and are down 0.6% over the past year, the largest decline since September 2016.

Import prices reflect costs before tariffs are applied.

Thursday’s report showed export prices rose 0.6% in February, and were up 0.3% from a year earlier.

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/u-s-import-prices-rose-in-february/