U.S. import prices remained flat in April as lower fuel prices offset higher prices in food and other consumer products, the Labor Department reported.
According to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report released on May 13, the unchanged prices last month followed an increase of 2.9% in the price index from overseas goods in March and a total increase of 6.8% by the end of the first quarter of 2022. Economists had estimated an increase of 0.6% in import prices for April, according to an article by RTTNews published by Nasdaq. Prices for imports increased 12% year-to-year through the end of April, down a percentage point recorded a month earlier.
Imported fuel prices declined by 2.4% in April after a 39.2% surge from December through March. Labor Department officials said the decrease in April was the first monthly drop since the index fell 7.7% in December. While fuel prices cooled in April, they increased 64.3% over the last 12 months. Petroleum prices decreased by 2.9% following an increase of 19.4% in March. Petroleum prices offset natural gas prices, which rose another 6.8% in April. In the last 12 months, natural gas prices have increased 102.2%, according to the report.
Nonfuel imports, which include industrial supplies and materials, capital goods, foods, feeds and beverages, and vehicles, increased 0.4% overall in April, following a combined 3.5% increase in the first quarter of the year.
Food, feeds, and beverages prices increased 0.9% last month and 12.1% for the year ending in April. Nonfuel industrial supplies and materials, steelmaking materials, fertilizer, and steel mill product prices were up in April, while unfinished building materials and precious metal prices fell.
Import capital goods advanced 0.4%, finishing off a 12-month rise calculated as the largest over-the-year advance, according to the report.
The price index for nonfuel imports has been steadily increasing since November 2020, advancing 7.2% year-to-year ending April.
Meanwhile, the price index for U.S. exports increased 0.6% in April, following a 10.5% increase from December through March and an 18% advance over the year.
According to the report, agricultural export prices increased 1.1%, with higher prices for corn, cotton, meat, and nuts and lower prices for wheat and soybeans. Labor officials said agricultural exports were up 20.9% at the end of April from the previous year.
Prices for capital goods, vehicles, and other nonagricultural exports increased by 0.5% in April. Fuel prices experienced a 1.3% drop in April, doing little to soften the surging 72.8% increase in the last 12 months ending April. The price index for vehicle exports rose 0.8%.
The Labor Department’s import and export price index report for May will be released in June.