Import prices in the U.S. saw a continued decrease in the month of February, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday, although the drop in prices was not as steep as economists had anticipated.
The Labor Department said its import price index dipped by 0.3 percent in February after tumbling by a revised 1.0 percent in January.
Economists had expected import prices to fall by 0.8 percent compared to the 1.1 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.
Compared to the same month a year ago, import prices were down by 6.1 percent in February, reflecting the smallest year-over-year decline since December of 2014.
The modest monthly drop in import prices was led by a drop in fuel prices, which slumped by 3.9 percent in February after plunging by 21.9 percent over the two previous months.
The Labor Department said both petroleum and natural gas prices contributed to the decrease, falling by 4.0 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively.
Excluding fuel prices, imports prices edged down by just 0.1 percent in February after coming in unchanged in January.
Decreases in prices for foods, feeds, and beverages, automotive vehicles, and non-fuel industrial supplies and materials were partly offset by rising prices for consumer goods.
The report also said the export price index dropped by 0.4 percent in February after sliding by 0.8 percent in January. Economists had expected export prices to decline by 0.5 percent.
Export prices were down by 6.0 percent year-over-year in February, reflecting an acceleration from the 5.7 percent drop in January.
The monthly decrease in export prices came as a drop in prices for non-agricultural exports more than offset an increase in prices for agricultural exports.
Prices for non-agricultural exports fell by 0.4 percent in February after dropping by 0.9 percent in January, primarily reflecting falling prices for non-agricultural industrial supplies and materials.
On the other hand, the report said prices for agricultural exports rose by 0.6 percent in February after slumping by 1.3 percent in January.
The increase in prices for agricultural exports, the first since last October, reflected higher prices for fruit, meat and corn.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com