Import Prices Rise; Non-Petroleum Dips

Published January 13, 2015

U.S. import prices (search) rose 1.0 percent in June as petroleum prices rebounded, while the price of non-petroleum imports fell for the second straight month, the Labor Department (search) said on Wednesday in a report suggesting few inflation pressures outside the energy sector.

Analysts had expected import prices to increase 1.1 percent after an upwardly revised 1.0 percent decline in May.

Petroleum import prices surged 7.6 percent in June, more than erasing May's 4.8 percent decline. Prices in the sector are up 37.6 percent in the 12 months to June.

Non-petroleum import prices dropped 0.4 percent — the largest decline since April 2003 — building on May's 0.2 percent dip. It was the first time prices for non-petroleum imports fell for two straight months in more than two years.

Lower natural gas, consumer goods and food prices contributed to the June decline in non-oil prices, the Labor Department said.

Export prices were unchanged in June after a 0.2 percent May decline.

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