March 2021 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2021-04-14

Prices for U.S. imports rose 1.2 percent in March, after increasing 1.3 percent the previous month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Higher fuel and nonfuel prices contributed to the advances for both months. U.S. exports also increased in March, rising 2.1 percent, following a 1.6-percent advance in February and a 2.6-percent increase in January. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on March 2021 Import and Export Price Index Data U.S. import prices advanced 1.2 percent in March, 1.3 percent in February, and 1.4 percent in January; the 4.1-percent increase from December to March was the largest 3-month rise for import prices since the index advanced 5.8 percent in May 2011. The price index for U.S. imports increased 6.9 percent from March 2020 to March 2021, the largest over-the-year advance in the index since a 6.9-percent rise for the year ended January 2012.