February 2023 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2023-03-16

Prices for U.S. imports edged down 0.1 percent in February, after declining 0.4 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Lower fuel prices in February more than offset higher nonfuel prices. U.S. export prices increased 0.2 percent in February following a 0.5-percent advance the previous month. The price index for U.S. imports declined 0.1 percent in February. Prices for U.S. imports decreased each month since June 2022 with the exception of a 0.1-percent advance in December 2022. U.S. import prices declined 1.1 percent from February 2022 to February 2023, the first 12-month decrease since the index fell 0.3 percent in December 2020 and the largest over-the-year drop since a 1.3-percent decline in September 2020. (See table 1.) Fuel Imports: Prices for import fuel fell 4.9 percent for the second consecutive month in February.