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The Labor Department said on Wednesday import
prices fell 0.3 percent last month after slipping 0.2 percent in
March.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices rising
0.3 percent.
In the 12 months through April prices fell 10.7 percent.
The dollar, which has gained about 11 percent against the
currencies of the United States' main trading partners since
June, and lower crude oil prices are keeping a lid on price
pressures.
That has left inflation running well below the Fed's 2 percent
target.
Persistently low inflation gives the U.S. central bank ample
room to keep its ultra-low interest rate policy a while longer,
while it looks for strong signals of the economy's recovery
after it weakened sharply in the first quarter.
The Fed has kept its key short-term interest rate near zero
since December 2008.
Last month, imported petroleum prices rose 1.0 percent after
increasing 1.6 percent in March.
Import prices excluding petroleum fell 0.4 percent in April
after a similar decline in March. Imported food prices slipped
0.9 percent after dropping 0.7 percent in March.
The report also showed export prices declined 0.7 percent last
month after edging up 0.1 percent in March. Export prices fell
6.3 percent in the 12 months through April.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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