The report issued
by the Labor Department on Tuesday revealed that the U.S. import-price index slipped
0.1 per cent m-o-m in March, following a downwardly revised 0.2 per cent m-o-m gain
(from +0.4 per cent m-o-m) in February. That marked the first monthly decrease in U.S. import
prices since September 2024 (-0.4 per cent m-o-m).
Economists had anticipated
import prices to be flat m-o-m
last month.
According to
the report, the March drop was mainly due to a 2.3 per cent m-o-m decline in
fuel import prices. Meanwhile, prices for non-fuel
imports inched up 0.1 per cent m-o-m.
Over the
12-month period that ended in March, import prices were up 0.9 per cent, recording
the weakest 12-month rise since October 2024 (+0.7 per cent)),
reflecting a 1.5 per cent surge in non-fuel prices that was partially offset by
a 5.2 per cent tumble in fuel prices.
The report also
revealed that the price index for U.S. exports was unchanged m-o-m in March, following an upwardly revised
0.5 per cent m-o-m surge (from +0.1 per cent m-o-m) in the previous month. That
represented the worst monthly performance of the indicator since November 2024
(unchanged m-o-m).
Economists had forecast
export prices to hold steady m-o-m in March.
The March flat
performance of the U.S. export-price
index reflected a zero per cent m-o-m change in prices for agricultural exports and a 0.1 per cent m-o-m fall in prices for non-agricultural exports.
Over the past
12 months, the price index for exports soared 2.4 per cent, the least since December
2024 (+2.0 per cent), driven by a 2.5 per cent surge in prices of
non-agricultural exports and a 1.4 per cent increase in prices of agricultural
exports.