April 2014 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2014-05-13

U.S. import prices fell 0.4 percent in April following a 0.4-percent advance the previous month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Declining fuel prices drove the April decrease. U.S. export prices decreased 1.0 percent in April, after rising 1.0 percent in March. All Imports: Import prices declined 0.4 percent in April, after increasing 1.8 percent in the first quarter of 2014. The April drop was the first monthly decrease since the index fell 0.9 percent in November 2013. Import prices also fell 0.3 percent over the past 12 months and have not recorded a year-over-year advance since the index increased 0.9 percent from July 2012 to July 2013. Fuel Imports: Fuel prices declined 1.7 percent in April, the first decrease for the index since a 4.2-percent drop in November 2013. Falling prices for both petroleum and natural gas contributed to the April drop in import prices.