By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Import prices rose 0.4% in February owing to a spike in oil, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. It's the first increase in three months and biggest gain since April 2011. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting import prices to rise 0.6%. Import prices were revised lower for January and December to show no increase. Over the past year, import prices are up 5.5%. Imported fuel prices rose 1.4% in February - 1.8% for petroleum - after a flat reading in the prior month. Fuel prices are up 15.2% over the past year. Excluding fuel, the price index for imports fell 0.1% following a 0.1% gain in January.
