The report released
by the Labor Department on Friday showed that the U.S. import-price index gained
0.1 per cent m-o-m in April, following a downwardly revised 0.4 per cent m-o-m fall
(from -0.1 per cent m-o-m) in March.
Economists had expected
import prices to drop 0.4 per cent m-o-m
last month.
According to
the report, the April advance in the U.S. import-price index reflected a 0.4 per
cent m-o-m jump in prices for non-fuel imports that more than offset a 2.6 per
cent m-o-m tumble in fuel import prices.
Over the
12-month period that ended in April, import prices were also up 0.1 per cent,
recording the weakest 12-month increase since a drop in September
2024 (+0.1 per cent), reflecting a 1.2 per cent climb in non-fuel prices that
was offset by a 12.0 per cent plunge in fuel prices.
The report also
revealed that the price index for U.S. exports inched up 0.1 per cent m-o-m in April, following an upwardly
revised 0.1 per cent m-o-m uptick (from flat m-o-m) in the previous month.
Economists had predicted
export prices to decrease 0.5 per
cent m-o-m in April.
The April
increase in the U.S. export-price
index was underpinned by a 0.5 per
cent m-o-m surge in prices for agricultural exports and a 0.1 per cent m-o-m rise in prices for non-agricultural exports.
Over the past
12 months, the price index for exports soared 2.0 per cent, the least since
December 2024 (+2.0 per cent), driven by a 1.9 per cent increase in prices of
non-agricultural exports and a 1.9 per cent advance in prices of agricultural
exports.