By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Import prices rose by 1.1% in August, the second straight large gain due to a spike in imported oil prices, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The rise in import prices was larger than expected. Economists were expecting import prices to rise 0.7% in September. Import prices also rose 1.1% in August. Fuel import prices rose 4.4% in September. Import prices excluding fuel rose a modest 0.2% in September after falling 0.2% in the prior month. Despite the sharp gains in the past two months, import prices over the past year are still down 0.6%. Fuel prices are up 40.9% over the past year. Nonfuel prices are up 5.4% in the past twelve months.
