March 2012 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2012-04-11

U.S. import prices advanced 1.3 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, after edging down 0.1 percent the previous month. Higher fuel and nonfuel prices contributed to the advance. Prices for U.S. exports rose 0.8 percent in March, following increases of 0.4 percent in February and 0.2 percent in January. All Imports: Import prices advanced 1.3 percent in March, the first increase for the index since rising 0.7 percent in November and the largest monthly rise since a 2.6 percent advance in April 2011. Import prices increased 3.4 percent over the past year, the smallest 12-month advance for the index since a similar 3.4 percent rise between November 2008 and November 2009. Fuel Imports: A 3.8 percent rise in import fuel prices led the March increase in overall import prices. The increase in fuel prices was the first one-month advance since a 3.4 percent rise in November.