The report published
by the Labor Department on Friday showed the U.S. import-price index declined
0.3 per cent m-o-m in August, following an unrevised 0.1 per cent m-o-m uptick in July. That represented the sharpest monthly decrease in the
U.S. import prices since December 2023 (-0.7 per cent m-o-m).
Economists had anticipated
import prices to drop 0.2 per cent m-o-m last month.
According to
the report, the August fall mainly reflected a 3.0 per cent m-o-m plunge in
fuel import prices. In addition, prices
for non-fuel imports slipped 0.1 per cent m-o-m.
Over the
12-month period that ended in August, import prices climbed 0.8 per cent, driven by a 1.3
per cent surge in non-fuel prices. Meanwhile, fuel prices tumbled 4.6 per cent. That marked
the 6th straight annual increase in import prices, but the second-weakest one
in streak.
The report also
revealed that the price index for U.S. exports fell 0.7 per cent m-o-m in August,
following a downwardly revised 0.5 per cent m-o-m soar (from +0.7 per cent
m-o-m) in the previous month. That was steepest
monthly drop in the U.S. export prices since May (-0.7 per cent m-o-m).
Economists had predicted
export prices to edge down 0.1 per cent m-o-m in August.
The August slump
in the U.S. export-price index reflected a 2.0 per cent m-o-m tumble in prices for agricultural exports and a 0.6 per cent m-o-m decline in prices for non-agricultural exports.
Over the past 12 months, the price index for
exports dropped 0.7 per cent, undermined by a 6.9 per cent plunge in prices of
agricultural exports and a 0.1 per cent m-o-m decrease in prices of non-agricultural
exports. That was the first 12-month decrease since April
(-0.8 per cent).