MW: Import prices fall 4.2%, petroleum decline persists
Prices of goods and services imported into the United States fell 4.2% in December, as the price for imported petroleum fell 21.4%, and non-petroleum imports fell 1.1%, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Analysts polled by MarketWatch had expected an overall decline in import prices of 5%. Prices of nonfuel imports fell 1.1%. In the past 12 months, import prices are down a record 9.3%, including a 47% drop in petroleum prices. The prices that U.S. producers received for their exports also fell, dropping 2.3% in December. In the past 12 months, export prices are down 3.2% -- the largest decline since 1998.
