August 2009 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2009-09-11

The U.S. Import Price Index increased 2.0 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, driven primarily by a 9.8 percent advance in fuel prices. Import prices fell 0.7 percent in July. Prices for U.S. exports rose 0.7 percent in August after falling 0.3 percent the previous month. All Imports: Import prices increased for the fifth time in the past six months in August, rising 2.0 percent for the month. Despite the recent advances, the price index for overall imports fell 15.0 percent over the past year and the decline was led by a 21.0 percent decrease for the index between August 2008 and January 2009. Import prices subsequently rose 7.6 percent from January 2009 to August 2009. Fuel Imports: Volatile fuel prices were the primary contributor to both the August increase and 12-month decrease in overall import prices.