September 2022 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2022-10-14

U.S. import prices decreased 1.2 percent in September, after declining 1.1 percent the previous month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Lower fuel and nonfuel prices in September contributed to the drop in U.S. import prices. Prices for U.S. exports fell 0.8 percent in September following a 1.7-percent decline in August. The price index for U.S. imports decreased 1.2 percent in September and 3.7 percent in the third quarter of 2022. The quarterly drop was the largest 3-month decline since the index fell 4.3 percent for the 3 months ended May 2020. Prices for U.S. imports rose 6.0 percent over the past year, the smallest 12-month advance since the index rose 3.0 percent for the year ended February 2021. (See table 1.) Fuel Imports: Prices for import fuel fell 7.5 percent for the second consecutive month in September. Those were the largest 1-month declines since the index decreased 7.7 percent in December 2021.