Import prices rose only 0.1% in December despite a 1.8% jump in energy. Export prices fell 0.1%.

Import Prices Month-Over-Month? and Year-Over-Year

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All Imports: Import prices rose 0.1 percent in December following 0.8-percent advances in 2 of the previous 3 months. The index has not recorded a monthly decline since falling 0.2 percent in July. Prices for U.S imports increased 3.0 percent in 2017, after advancing 1.9 percent the previous year. The advance in 2017 was the largest calendar-year increase since import prices rose 8.5 percent in 2011.

Fuel Imports: Import fuel prices increased 1.8 percent in December, after rising 8.4 percent in November. The price index for import fuel has not recorded a monthly decline since falling 1.0 percent in July. The December rise was driven by a 2.0-percent increase in petroleum prices which more than offset a 4.9-percent decline in natural gas prices. Import fuel prices rose 18.4 percent in 2017 following a 24.7-percent advance the previous year. Prior to 2016, import fuel prices had not recorded a calendar-year increase since 2011. In 2017, a 20.6-percent gain in petroleum prices more than offset a 15.7-percent drop in natural gas prices.

All Imports Excluding Fuel: In contrast, the price index for nonfuel imports edged down 0.1 percent in December, the first monthly decline since a 0.1-percent drop in July. The decline in December was led by lower prices for foods, feeds, and beverages; consumer goods; and nonfuel industrial supplies and materials. Despite the December downturn, nonfuel import prices increased 1.4 percent in 2017, after a 0.2-percent advance the previous year. The 2017 rise was the largest calendar-year increase since the index advanced 3.4 percent in 2011. In 2017, rising prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials; capital goods; consumer goods; and foods, feeds, and beverages all contributed to the advance in nonfuel prices. Of the major import areas, only prices for automotive vehicles decreased in 2017.