U.S. Import And Export Price Indexes — 2005-05-13

The U.S. Import Price Index increased 0.8 percent in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The advance, the fourth in a row, followed a 2.0 percent increase in March, and was again led by rising petroleum prices. Export prices rose 0.6 percent in April after increasing the same amount in March. Percent changes in import and export price indexes by End Use category -not seasonally adjusted- Month Non- Agri- Nonagri- All Petroleum petroleum All cultural cultural Imports Imports Imports Exports Exports Exports 2005 January 0.6 2.2 r 0.3 0.8 r 0.6 0.8 r February 0.9 r 5.0 r 0.1 0.1 r -0.6 r 0.1 March 2.0 r 12.3 r 0.3 0.6 r 3.8 r 0.4 April 0.8 3.1 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.5 Prices for overall imports increased 0.8 percent in April after rising 3.5 percent over the first three months of 2005.