April 2011 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2011-05-10

U.S. import prices increased 2.2 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, after rising 2.6 percent the previous month. Higher fuel and nonfuel prices contributed to the advances in each month. Prices for U.S. exports increased 1.1 percent in April following a 1.5 percent advance the previous month. All Imports: Import prices rose 2.2 percent in April following a 2.6 percent advance in March, the first time import prices increased by more than two percent in consecutive months since June 2008. The price index for overall imports recorded an increase each month since October and rose 11.1 percent over the past year. The 12-month advance in April was the largest year-over-year increase since an 11.2 percent gain between April 2009 and April 2010. Fuel Imports: Import fuel prices advanced 6.7 percent in April and accounted for approximately 80 percent of the overall increase in import prices.