November 2008 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2008-12-11

The U.S. Import Price Index fell for the fourth consecutive month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today, decreasing 6.7 percent in November as falling prices for both petroleum and nonpetroleum imports contributed to the decline. Export prices declined 3.2 percent in November, the fourth consecutive monthly decrease. Percent changes in import and export price indexes by End Use category - not seasonally adjusted - Import prices fell 6.7 percent in November after decreases of 5.4 percent, 3.5 percent, and 3.1 percent in October, September, and August, respectively. The November decline was the largest one- month drop since the index was first published monthly in December 1988 and the 17.4 percent decrease over the past four months was the largest four-month decline since the index was first published in September 1982.