U.S. import prices fell 0.5% in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, the first monthly decline since June 2010. Declining fuel and nonfuel prices both contributed to the overall decrease. U.S. export prices ticked up 0.1% in June after rising 0.2% in May.
Import prices decreased 0.5% in June following a 0.1% uptick the previous month. The June drop was the first monthly decline since the index fell 1.2 percent in June 2010. Prior to May, import prices rose at least one percent in each of the previous seven months. Import prices increased 13.6% for the year ended in June, the largest year-over-year advance since the index rose 18.1% between August 2007 and August 2008.
Export prices continued to rise in June, ticking up 0.1% after a 0.2% increase the previous month. The recent increases were the smallest since the index declined 0.2%in July 2010. The June advance was led by higher agricultural prices as nonagricultural prices remained unchanged for the month. The price index for overall exports advanced 9.9% for the June 2010-11 period, the largest 12-month increase in export prices since the index rose 10.2% between July 2007 and July 2008.
