U.S. Import and Export Prices Continue to Rise in February
Summary
- Import prices rise 1.4% in Feb. as fuel prices jump 6.9%.
- Excluding fuels, import prices increase 0.8%.
- Export prices advance a record 3.0% with both ag export prices and nonag export prices up 3.0%.
Import prices rose 1.4% m/m (10.9% y/y) in February after a 1.9% rise in January (+2.0% initially) and a 0.4% decline in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The February m/m rise was the fifth in six months. Export prices rose 3.0% last month (16.6% y/y) following a 2.8% gain in January (+2.9% initially) and a 1.6% drop in December. The m/m rise in export prices was the 20th in 21 months and the largest on record. The Action Economics Forecast survey had expected increases of 1.4% for import prices and 1.3% for export prices in February.
The rise in import prices in February was driven by a 6.9% gain (53.0% y/y) in imported fuel prices following a 7.7% January rise (+9.3% initially). The key contributors to the gain in imported fuel costs were m/m rises of 12.9% in other petroleum products (66.7% y/y), 9.1% in fuel oil (55.2% y/y), 8.1% in petroleum & petroleum products (52.8% y/y), and 6.8% in crude oil (48.8% y/y). Natural gas, however, fell 10.0% (+61.6% y/y) following a 6.8% January rebound. Nonfuel import prices rose 0.8% (7.2% y/y), the sixth straight monthly rise, after a 1.3% gain, led by m/m price increases of 2.2% in nonfuel industrial supplies & materials (22.8% y/y), 1.5% in foods, feeds & beverages (16.0% y/y), 0.3% in capital goods (3.2% y/y), 0.3% in consumer goods ex autos (2.9% y/y), and 0.2% in automotive vehicles & parts (2.5% y/y).
The February rise in export prices reflected gains in both agricultural and nonagricultural export prices. Agricultural export prices advanced 3.0% (18.2% y/y) in February, the fifth straight m/m gain and the largest since May 2021, after a 2.9% increase in January. Nonagricultural export prices rose 3.0% (16.3% y/y), the 15th m/m rise in 16 months, after a 2.8% increase. Industrial supplies & materials export prices advanced 5.8% (35.2% y/y), the biggest m/m gain since March 2021, after a 5.8% rise. Export prices for foods, feeds & beverages grew 3.0% (17.7% y/y), the sixth m/m gain in seven months, on top of a 3.2% rise. Nonauto consumer goods prices increased 0.7% (4.8% y/y), the fifth consecutive m/m gain, after a 1.1% advance. Capital goods prices rose 0.4% (4.1% y/y), the 14th straight m/m rise, following a 0.8% increase. Auto export prices were up 0.3% (2.4% y/y) after a 0.5% rise, registering the ninth successive m/m advance.
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.
Winnie Tapasanun
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Winnie Tapasanun has been working for Haver Analytics since 2013. She has 20+ years of working in the financial services industry. As Vice President and Economic Analyst at Globicus International, Inc., a New York-based company specializing in macroeconomics and financial markets, Winnie oversaw the company’s business operations, managed financial and economic data, and wrote daily reports on macroeconomics and financial markets. Prior to working at Globicus, she was Investment Promotion Officer at the New York Office of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) where she wrote monthly reports on the U.S. economic outlook, wrote reports on the outlook of key U.S. industries, and assisted investors on doing business and investment in Thailand. Prior to joining the BOI, she was Adjunct Professor teaching International Political Economy/International Relations at the City College of New York. Prior to her teaching experience at the CCNY, Winnie successfully completed internships at the United Nations. Winnie holds an MA Degree from Long Island University, New York. She also did graduate studies at Columbia University in the City of New York and doctoral requirements at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her areas of specialization are international political economy, macroeconomics, financial markets, political economy, international relations, and business development/business strategy. Her regional specialization includes, but not limited to, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Winnie is bilingual in English and Thai with competency in French. She loves to travel (~30 countries) to better understand each country’s unique economy, fascinating culture and people as well as the global economy as a whole.
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