November 2019 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2019-12-13

U.S. import prices rose 0.2 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, following a 0.5-percent decrease in October. The November increase was driven by higher fuel prices, which more than offset lower nonfuel prices. The price index for U.S. exports rose 0.2 percent in November, after declining 0.1 percent in October. Prices for U.S. imports increased 0.2 percent in November, after decreasing 0.5 percent in October and rising 0.1 percent in September. The U.S. import price index declined 1.3 percent from November 2018 to November 2019. The 12-month decrease was the smallest over-the-year decline since the index fell 0.9 percent during the period ended May 2019. (See table 1.) Fuel Imports: Import fuel prices rose 2.6 percent in November following a 2.5-percent drop the previous month. The November advance was the largest monthly increase since the index rose 3.6 percent in May.