July 2009 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2009-08-13

The U.S. Import Price Index fell 0.7 percent in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Decreases for both petroleum prices and nonpetroleum prices contributed to the July drop for overall import prices, which followed four consecutive monthly increases. Export prices also declined in July, falling 0.3 percent after advancing 1.0 percent the previous month. Percent changes in import and export price indexes by End Use category - not seasonally adjusted - A downturn in petroleum prices, which fell 2.8 percent in July, was the primary factor for the turnaround in overall import prices. Prices for import petroleum rose 66.6 percent over the previous five months, which led overall imports up 6.0 percent over that period. Despite the jump between February and June, petroleum prices fell 49.9 percent over the past year.