May 2010 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2010-06-15

U.S. import prices declined 0.6 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, after rising 1.1 percent in April and 0.4 percent in March. The decrease was led by falling fuel prices, which more than offset a rise in nonfuel prices. In contrast, the price index for U.S. exports increased 0.7 percent in May following increases of 1.2 percent and 0.7 percent in April and March, respectively. All Imports: Import prices fell 0.6 percent in May, the first decline for the index since edging down 0.1 percent in February and the largest monthly drop since a similar 0.6 percent decrease in July 2009. Despite the May decline, import prices rose 8.6 percent over the past 12 months. Prices of overall imports have been up on a 12-month basis since declining 5.6 percent for the October 2008-09 period. Fuel Imports: Fuel prices reversed the recent upward trend, falling 4.9 percent in May.