U.S. Import Prices Were Unchanged in December While Export Prices Fell
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Imported fuel prices fell 0.3% m/m while nonfuel prices were unchanged.
- For exports, the December decline reflected lower nonag and ag prices.
Import prices for all goods were unchanged m/m (-1.6% y/y) in December following a downwardly revised 0.5% m/m decline in November (previously -0.4% m/m), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Export prices fell 0.9% m/m (-3.2% y/y), the same monthly decrease as in November. The Action Economics Forecast Survey had looked for a 0.5% monthly decline in import prices and a 0.7% m/m decrease in export prices.
Prices for imported fuel and lubricants declined 0.3% m/m in December following decreases of 6.5% in November and 3.6% in October. Lower petroleum prices in December more than offset higher natural gas prices. Imported fuel and lubricant prices fell 7.3% from December 2022 to December 2023. Nonfuel import prices were unchanged in December, after ticking up 0.1% m/m in November and declining 0.1% in October. Higher prices in December for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials and automotive vehicles were offset by lower prices for capital goods and foods, feeds, and beverages. The price index for nonfuel imports declined 0.8% for the year ended in December.
The price index for exports decreased 0.9% m/m in December for the third consecutive month. Lower prices for both agricultural (-0.6% m/m) and nonagricultural (-0.9% m/m) exports contributed to the December drop. Export prices fell 3.2% over the past year. Despite the recent declines, the December decrease was the smallest 12-month drop since February 2023. Driven by lower fuel prices, nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials prices declined 2.2% m/m in December, the third consecutive monthly decline. Prices for the major finished goods export categories were mostly up in December. Consumer goods prices rose 0.3% m/m following a 0.2% monthly decline in November. The price index for automotive vehicles advanced 0.2% m/m in December, after a 0.1% decline the previous month. Prices for exported capital goods were unchanged in December following a 0.1% m/m decrease in November.
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.
Sandy Batten
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Sandy Batten has more than 30 years of experience analyzing industrial economies and financial markets and a wide range of experience across the financial services sector, government, and academia. Before joining Haver Analytics, Sandy was a Vice President and Senior Economist at Citibank; Senior Credit Market Analyst at CDC Investment Management, Managing Director at Bear Stearns, and Executive Director at JPMorgan. In 2008, Sandy was named the most accurate US forecaster by the National Association for Business Economics. He is a member of the New York Forecasters Club, NABE, and the American Economic Association. Prior to his time in the financial services sector, Sandy was a Research Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Senior Staff Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the US Treasury, and Economist at the International Monetary Fund. Sandy has taught economics at St. Louis University, Denison University, and Muskingun College. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in a wide range of academic publications. He has a B.A. in economics from the University of Richmond and a M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from The Ohio State University.
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