U.S. Import Prices Unexpectedly Rise 0.4% In December

(RTTNews) - While the Labor Department released a report on Friday showing an unexpected increase in U.S. import prices in the month of December, the report also showed a much steeper than expected nosedive in export prices.

The Labor Department said import prices rose by 0.4 percent in December after falling by a revised 0.7 percent in November.

The rebound surprised economists, who had expected import prices to decrease by 0.8 percent compared to the 0.6 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report said export prices plunged by 2.6 percent in December after declining by a revised 0.4 percent in November.

Economists had expected export prices to decrease by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.3 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.