|
The Labor Department said on Friday import prices rose 0.3
percent last month. Data for March was revised to show import
prices falling 0.2 percent instead of being unchanged as
previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices rising
0.5 percent in April. In the 12 months through April, import
prices increased 3.3 percent, matching March's gain.
Last month, prices for imported petroleum rebounded 1.6 percent
after declining 2.2 percent in March. Excluding petroleum,
import prices edged up 0.1 percent in April after being
unchanged in the prior month. Import prices excluding petroleum
rose 1.7 percent in the 12 months through April.
The cost of imported food fell 0.4 percent in April, declining
for a second straight month, while prices for imported capital
goods were unchanged. The cost of imported motor vehicles nudged
up 0.1 percent. Prices of consumer goods excluding automobiles
gained 0.1 percent
Import prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials
increased 0.7 percent after jumping 1.0 percent in March. They
were driven by a 4.0 percent surge in the prices of iron and
steel mill products. President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent
import tariff on steel in March to shield domestic producers
from what he said was unfair competition.
The cost of goods imported from China slipped 0.1 percent in
April after rising 0.2 percent in March. Prices increased 0.2
percent in the 12 months through April.
The report also showed export prices accelerated 0.6 percent in
April after gaining 0.3 percent in March. Prices for
agricultural products fell 1.2 percent last month, the first
drop since December 2017, weighed down by lower prices for
soybeans, nuts and wheat.
Export prices increased 3.8 percent on a year-on-year basis
after rising 3.4 percent in March.
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
