Import Prices Fall 0.3%; Export Prices Drop 0.5%

In February, import prices fell 0.3%, following an increase of 1.3% in January. This was the first decline since last July. However, on net, it was entirely due to a 2.2% drop in petroleum prices, which had been trending upward over the prior months. Import prices, not including oil, rose 0.2%. Prices were up 11.2% from a year prior, mostly due to higher energy prices. This is a sharp turnaround since the recent trough of past July, where prices were down 19.1% year-over-year.

Export prices also fell, declining 0.5% over the month. This was the first drop since September. From a year prior, export prices were up 3.1%.

	Feb	Jan	Dec	Nov	Oct	Sep
Import Prices
M/M % Change	-0.3	1.3	0.2	1.5	0.8	0.2
Y/Y % Change	11.2	11.5	8.6	3.4	-5.6	-12.0
Export Prices
M/M % Change	-0.5	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.0	-0.2
Y/Y % Change	3.1	3.3	3.4	0.4	-3.6	-5.6

10.03.16 (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)