December 2022 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2023-01-13

Prices for U.S. imports increased 0.4 percent in December, after declining 0.7 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Higher nonfuel prices and fuel prices contributed to the December advance. U.S. export prices fell 2.6 percent in December following a 0.4-percent decrease the previous month. U.S. import prices advanced 0.4 percent in December, the first monthly increase since the index rose 0.2 percent in June 2022. The December advance followed a 4.6-percent decline from June to November. The price index for U.S. imports increased 3.5 percent over the past 12 months, driven by higher fuel and nonfuel prices. (See table 1.) Fuel Imports: Import fuel prices increased 0.6 percent in December, after declining 3.7 percent in November. The December advance is the first monthly increase since the index rose 5.6 percent in June 2022. Higher natural gas prices in December more than offset lower prices for petroleum.