U.S. Import And Export Price Indexes — 2005-06-10

The U.S. Import Price Index decreased 1.3 percent in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The decline followed four consecutive increases, as decreases in both petroleum prices and nonpetroleum prices contributed to the May drop. Prices for U.S. exports also declined in May, decreasing 0.1 percent for the month. 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 0.3 0.8 0.6 0.8 February 0.9 5.1 r 0.1 0.1 -0.5 r 0.1 March 2.2 r 13.2 r 0.3 0.7 r 3.8 0.4 April 1.2 r 5.4 r 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.7 r May -1.3 -6.5 -0.3 -0.1 2.0 -0.4 A downturn in petroleum prices, which fell 6.5 percent in May, contributed to the turnaround in overall import prices.