October 2011 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2011-11-10

U.S. import prices declined 0.6 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, after recording no change in September. Decreasing prices for both nonfuel and fuel imports contributed to the October drop. Export prices fell 2.1 percent in October, the largest monthly decline since a 2.2 percent decrease in December 2008. All Imports: Import prices fell for the third time in five months in October, declining 0.6 percent for the month. The decrease matched a 0.6 percent decline in June, the largest one-month drop since the index fell 1.2 percent in June 2010. The price index for overall imports fell 1.4 percent over the past five months, primarily driven down over that period by declining fuel prices. Despite the recent decreases, import prices advanced 11.0 percent over the past year. Fuel Imports: Fuel prices fell 1.3 percent in October, following declines of 0.7 percent in September and 2.1 percent in August.