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The Labor Department said on Thursday import prices increased
0.6 percent last month. Data for April was revised to show
import prices rising 0.6 percent instead of the previously
reported 0.3 percent gain.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices rising
0.5 percent in May. In the 12 months through May, import prices
increased 4.3 percent, the biggest rise since February 2017,
after advancing 3.6 percent in April.
Last month, prices for imported petroleum jumped 5.9 percent,
the largest gain since November 2017 after rising 4.4 percent in
April. Excluding petroleum, import prices edged up 0.1 percent
in May, matching April's gain. Import prices excluding petroleum
rose 1.8 percent in the 12 months through May.
The report also showed export prices rose 0.6 percent in May,
lifted by increase in the prices of wheat, corns and soybeans.
That followed a similar gain in April. Export prices increased
4.9 percent on a year-on-year basis, the biggest rise since
October 2011, after advancing 3.7 percent in April.
(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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