U.S. import prices increased by the most in more than a year in May, driven by higher costs for petroleum products and food, which could further diminish fears of deflation as the economy battles a recession.<\/p>\n
The Labor Department said on Friday import prices rose 1.0% last month, the largest gain since February 2019, after falling 2.6% in April.<\/p>\n
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices, which exclude tariffs, increasing 0.6% in May.<\/p>\n
In the 12 months through May, import prices decreased 6.0% after dropping 6.8% in April.<\/p>\n
The report followed data this week showing consumer prices falling moderately in May and producer prices rebounding. Deflation is a decline in the general price level, which is harmful during a recession as consumers and businesses may delay purchases in anticipation of lower prices.<\/p>\n
The National Bureau of Economic Research, the arbiter of U.S. recessions, declared on Monday that the economy slipped into recession in February.<\/p>\n
In May, prices for imported fuels and lubricants surged 20.5% after declining 31.0% in the prior month. Petroleum prices jumped 21.7% after plunging 32.6% in April. Imported food prices rebounded 2.2% last month after dropping 1.6% in April.<\/p>\n
Excluding fuels and food, import prices dipped 0.1% last month after falling 0.5% in April. The so-called core import prices declined 0.7% in the 12 months through May.<\/p>\n
The cost of goods imported from China was unchanged in May after gaining 0.1% in the prior month. Prices declined 1.0% year-on-year in May, the smallest drop since March 2019.<\/p>\n
Last month, prices for imported capital goods was unchanged. The cost of imported motor vehicles dipped 0.1%. Prices for consumer goods excluding autos rose 0.1%.<\/p>\n
The report also showed export prices increased 0.5% in May as higher prices for nonagricultural products offset lower prices for agricultural goods. That followed a 3.3% drop in April. Export prices declined 6.0% on a year-on-year basis in May after dropping 6.8% in April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
U.S. import prices increased by the most in more than a year in May, driven […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n