MW: October import prices rise 0.9%; exports up 0.8%
By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Prices of goods imported into the United States rose 0.9% in October as fuel costs surged, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Prices for imports excluding fuels increased a smaller 0.3%. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected import prices to rise 1.3%. The fuel category jumped 3.0%, the biggest monthly increase since January, and accounted for two-thirds of the overall rise in import prices. Petroleum prices shot up 3.3% and more than offset a 2.3% drop in natural gas. Import prices are up 3.6%% over the past year. Fuel imports have climbed 7.9% in that span, but prices for non-fuel imports have risen just 2.5%. Meanwhile, export prices rose 0.8% in October for the third straight monthly gain. Prices for agricultural exports rose 2.5% while prices for non-agricultural exports edged up 0.7%. Over the past 12 months, export prices have risen 5.8%, the largest increase in two years.
