February 2019 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2019-03-14

Prices for U.S. imports advanced 0.6 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, after ticking up 0.1 percent in January and falling 1.4 percent in December. The February increase was led by higher fuel prices. U.S. export prices rose 0.6 percent in February following decreases of 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent the previous 2 months. U.S. import prices increased 0.6 percent in February, the largest monthly rise since a 0.9-percent advance in May. Despite the February increase, import prices declined 1.3 percent from February 2018 to February 2019. Both fuel and nonfuel prices contributed to the 12-month decrease. (See table 1.) Fuel Imports: Prices for import fuel rose 4.9 percent in February, after advancing 4.1 percent in January and falling 13.3 percent in December. The February increase was the largest monthly advance since a 6.1- percent rise in May. Higher prices for both petroleum and natural gas contributed to the February increase.