July 2023 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — 2023-08-15

Prices for U.S. imports advanced 0.4 percent in July following a 0.1-percent decline the previous month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The July increase was driven by higher fuel prices. U.S. export prices rose 0.7 percent in July, after decreasing 0.7 percent in June. The price index for U.S. imports rose 0.4 percent in July, only the second monthly advance in 2023. Despite the July rise, U.S. import prices declined 4.4 percent over the past 12 months, after increasing 8.8 percent from July 2021 to July 2022. (See table 1.) Fuel Imports: Import fuel prices advanced 3.6 percent in July, after increasing 1.9 percent in June. Higher prices for petroleum and natural gas in July contributed to the rise. Despite the advances the past 2 months, import fuel prices decreased 29.0 percent over the past year. Prices for import petroleum rose 3.5 percent in July following a 2.1-percent increase the previous month.