July 2019 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2019-08-14

Prices for U.S. imports increased 0.2 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, following a 1.1-percent decline the previous month. In July, rising fuel prices more than offset lower nonfuel prices. The price index for U.S. exports advanced 0.2 percent in July, after falling 0.6 percent in June and 0.3 percent in May. The price index for U.S. imports rose 0.2 percent in July, after a decrease of 1.1 percent the previous month. Prior to June, prices for U.S. imports advanced in each of the first 5 months of 2019. Despite the increases, import prices declined 1.8 percent over the past year. (See table 1.) Fuel Imports: Prices for import fuel advanced 1.8 percent in July following a 7.3-percent drop in June. Import fuel prices previously increased 30.1 percent for the first 5 months of 2019. In July, higher petroleum prices more than offset lower natural gas prices.