NEW YORK: Prices for imported goods fell in August, posting their largest drop since January, a sign that the strong dollar and ongoing weakness in oil prices are keeping inflation at bay.
Import prices fell 1.8 per cent in August, the Labor Department said. Economists surveyed had expected a 1.7 per cent decline.
August’s fall was led by a steep monthly decline in the price of imported fuel, which plunged 13.3 per cent, the largest drop in fuel prices since January.
Nonfuel import prices fell by 0.4 per cent in August, and have fallen by 3 per cent over the past year, the largest 12-month drop since October 2009.
Overall import prices are down 11.4 per cent from a year earlier, the biggest annual decline since September 2009. Cheaper fuel prices also drove the annual decline, having fallen by nearly half from a year earlier.
Unlike other price gauges measured by the government, import prices are not seasonally adjusted.
Demand for commodities like oil and copper has been dampened by economic troubles overseas, particularly in China, which also devalued its currency in August.
By contrast, a strong US dollar has made imports cheaper for Americans, but has also made American exports more pricey for overseas buyers.
Inflation measures are closely monitored by the Federal Reserve, which has an inflation target of 2 per cent. The Fed’s preferred inflation indicator, the price index for personal consumption expenditures, rose 0.3 per cent in July, the same pace as in June. Another measure, the consumer-price index, rose 1.8 per cent in July, excluding volatile food and energy prices.
US export prices fell in August by 1.4 per cent, driven by a 2.6 per cent fall in the price of agricultural exports like wheat, corn and soybeans. Export prices are down 7 per cent year-over-year, the largest such decline since July 2009.
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