U.S. Import And Export Price Indexes — 2006-06-09

The U.S. Import Price Index advanced 1.6 percent in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Import prices rose for the second consecutive month as higher petroleum and nonpetroleum prices both contributed to the May increase. Export prices rose 0.7 percent in May following a 0.6 percent advance the previous month. Percent changes in import and export price indexes by End Use category -not seasonally adjusted- Month Non- Agri- Nonagri- All Petroleum petroleum All cultural cultural Imports Imports Imports Exports Exports Exports 2006 January 1.2 5.8 0.3 0.7 0.6 0.7 February -0.8 r -1.0 r -0.7 r 0.1 -0.7 0.2 r March -0.1 r 0.5 -0.3 0.2 -0.1 r 0.2 April 2.1 11.5 0.1 r 0.6 -0.6 0.7 May 1.6 5.2 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.6 The 1.6 percent rise in May followed a 2.1 percent increase in April, and marked the largest 2-month jump for the index since October 1990.