March 2022 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2022-04-14

Prices for U.S. imports advanced 2.6 percent in March following a 1.6-percent increase in February and a 2.0-percent rise in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Higher fuel prices drove the March advance and nonfuel prices also increased. U.S. export prices rose 4.5 percent in March, after advancing 3.0 percent the previous month. The price index for U.S. imports increased 2.6 percent in March, the largest monthly rise since April 2011. Prices for U.S. imports advanced 12.5 percent for the year ended in March, the largest 12-month increase since a 12.7-percent rise in September 2011. (See table 1.) Fuel Imports: Prices for import fuel advanced 14.6 percent in March, after increasing 10.0 percent in February and 7.3 percent in January. The March rise was the largest 1-month advance since a 15.2-percent increase in July 2020. The March increase was led by higher petroleum prices which rose 16.1 percent following an 11.3-percent advance in February.