U.S. Import and Export Prices Continue to Post Double-Digit Year-on-Year Increases

Import prices rose 0.2% m/m (10.7% y/y) in June, following a 0.5% m/m (11.6% y/y) advance in May, downwardly revised from a 0.6% monthly rise. Export prices rose 0.7% m/m (18.2% y/y), after a strong 2.9% m/m (18.7% y/y) rise in May, revised down from 2.8% m/m. The monthly data are not seasonally adjusted. The Action Economics Forecast survey had expected rises of 0.7% in import prices and 0.9% in export prices in June.

Import prices of petroleum and petroleum products rose 5.0% m/m (70.6% y/y) in June, following a rise of 5.8% m/m (70.3% y/y) in May. They represent about 12% of total import prices. Import prices excluding fuels declined 0.5% m/m (+4.6% y/y), following a monthly decline of 0.3% (+5.9% y/y) in May. Import prices for foods, feeds and beverages declined 0.7% m/m (+8.7% y/y) in June after a 0.6% monthly decline (+11.5% y/y) in May. Industrial supplies and materials rose 1.0% m/m (30.0% y/y), versus a rise of 1.5% m/m (32.3% y/y) in May, with fuels and lubricant prices rising 5.7% m/m (72.9% y/y) last month versus a rise of 7.0% m/m (72.4% y/y) in May. Capital goods import prices rose 0.2% m/m (4.0% y/y), after a similar monthly 0.2% rise (4.1% y/y) in May. Import prices of automotive vehicles, parts and engines were unchanged over the month (3.0% y/y) in June after a rise of 0.4% m/m (3.2% y/y) the prior month, while import prices of consumer goods excluding automotives declined 0.3% m/m (+2.0% y/y) in June, following a decline of 0.2% (+2.6% y/y) in May.

The details of monthly export prices reveal a monthly rise of 1.7% (36.7% y/y) in industrial supplies and materials during June, following a 5.9% m/m (37.0% y/y) in May, while capital goods export prices declined 0.1% m/m (+4.2% y/y), following a 0.3% monthly rise (4.8% y/y) in May. Automotive vehicles, parts and engines export prices were unchanged over the month (4.5% y/y), after a 0.3% m/m (4.6% y/y) rise in May. Consumer goods excluding automobiles export prices posted a 0.1% decline (+3.3% y/y) in June, after a 0.3% m/m drop (+4.3% y/y) in May. Foods, feeds and beverages export prices dropped 0.6% m/m (+13.4% y/y) in June after a monthly rise of 2.3% (15.9% y/y) in May. Export prices of agricultural commodities declined 0.3% m/m (+14.8% y/y) in June after a 2.2% m/m (16.7% y/y) rise in May, while nonagricultural commodities export prices rose 0.9% m/m (18.7% y/y) in June after a 3.0% m/m (19.0% y/y) rise in May.

The import and export price series can be found in Haver's USECON database. Detailed figures are available in the USINT database. The expectations figure from the Action Economics Forecast Survey is in the AS1REPNA database.