By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The prices paid for goods imported into the U.S. jumpd 1.3% in March, mainly because of higher oil costs, the Labor Department said Wednesday. That compared to a revised 0.1% decrease in February. Import prices in February were originally reported up 0.4%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected import prices to climb 0.8% in March. Fuel costs shot up 4.3% as the price of oil surged. Excluding fuel, import prices rose by a much smaller 0.3% last month. The price of U.S.-made goods exported to other nations, meanwhile, rose 0.8% in March.
