Import and Export Prices Drop for 4th Straight Month
Import and export prices are both down for the fourth straight month, according to a June Labor Department report (link opens as PDF) released today.
Import prices fell 0.2% for June after dropping off 0.7% in May. Analysts had expected a slight 0.1% gain in import prices. Unlike the past two months of declines fueled primarily by lower fuel prices, the latest month's decline comes entirely from non-fuel imports, according to the report. While import fuel prices increased 0.1%, non-fuel import prices dropped 0.3% due primarily to nonfuel industrial supplies and materials, as well as across-the-board dips in all major finished goods categories.
Source: Labor Department.
After dropping 0.5% in May, export prices took a 0.1% dip in June, matching analysts' expectations. Although agricultural prices increased 0.6% after a 1.1% jump in May, a concurrent 0.5% dip in nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials prices kept export prices dropping for June.
Source: Labor Department.
Regionally, import prices from Japan fell 0.5%, while China imports dropped 0.1% for the third straight month. E.U. import prices also fell 0.1% for June.
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