December 2023 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2024-01-17

U.S. import prices were unchanged in December, after declining 0.5 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Import fuel prices decreased 0.3 percent in December and nonfuel prices were unchanged. Prices for U.S. exports fell 0.9 percent in December following a 0.9-percent decline the previous month. The price index for U.S. imports was unchanged in December, after declining in each of the previous 2 months. Prices for U.S. imports fell 1.6 percent for the year ended in December. U.S. import prices have not risen on a 12-month basis since January 2023. (See table 1.) Fuel Imports: Prices for import fuel declined 0.3 percent in December following decreases of 6.4 percent in November and 3.9 percent in October. Lower petroleum prices in December more than offset higher natural gas prices. Import fuel prices fell 9.4 percent from December 2022 to December 2023.