U.S. Import Prices Show Biggest Increase In Over Four Years In May

(RTTNews) - Reflecting another substantial increase in fuel prices, the Labor Department released a report on Tuesday showing that U.S. import prices surged up by much more than expected in the month of May.

The report said import prices jumped by 1.4 percent in May after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in April.

Economists had expected import prices to rise by 0.8 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department said the jump in import prices reflected the biggest monthly advance since a matching increase in March of 2012.

The sharp increase in import prices came as prices for fuel imports shot up by 16.2 percent in May after spiking by 9.4 percent in April.

Fuel prices saw their biggest monthly increase since April of 1999, led by a 17.4 percent jump in petroleum prices.

Excluding fuel prices, import prices edged up by just 0.3 percent in May after inching up by 0.1 percent in the previous month. The uptick still reflected the biggest increase since March of 2014.

Higher prices for non-fuel industrial supplies and materials, automotive vehicles, consumer goods, and foods, feeds, and beverages all contributed to the rise in non-fuel prices.

The Labor Department said export prices also shot up by 1.1 percent in May following a 0.5 percent advance in April. Export prices had been expected to edge up by 0.2 percent.

The much bigger than expected advance in export prices was the largest monthly rise since a 1.5 percent jump in March of 2011.

Prices for agricultural exports shot up by 2.9 percent in May after climbing by 0.8 percent in April, reflecting sharp increases in soybean and corn prices.

The report said prices for non-agricultural exports also increased by 1.0 percent in May after rising by 0.4 percent in April.

Rising prices for non-agricultural industrial supplies and materials, capital goods, and consumer goods more than offset falling automotive vehicles prices.

Despite the substantial monthly increase, import prices in May were down by 5.0 percent compared to the same month a year ago. Export prices were also down by 4.5 percent year-over-year.