U.S. import prices fell by the smallest amount in six months in January as a string of double-digit declines in petroleum import prices ended, a U.S. Labor Department report said on Wednesday. Petroleum import prices fell just 2.4 percent in January after four consecutive months of double-digit declines. That helped to hold the 1.1 percent drop in overall import prices close to the 1.3 percent mark expected by analysts before the report. Petroleum import prices have fallen 55 percent over the past 12 months, the largest annual decline on record. But the pace of decline slowed abruptly in January after a 27.2 percent drop in December and a 29.9 percent drop in November. The drop in overall import prices over the past 12 months was also the largest on record, but the monthly decline slowed markedly in January from a 5.0 percent drop in December. U.S. export prices rose 0.5 percent in January for the first increase in 6 months, compared to Wall Street forecasts for a 1.0 percent decline. Export prices for foods, feeds and beverage rose 7.4 percent in January, the large monthly increase on record. Agricultural export prices rose 6.2 percent, the first increase in 4 months and the largest advance since July, the Labor Department said.

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