A report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed increases in U.S. import and export prices in the month of August.
The Labor Department said imports prices climbed by 0.6 percent in August after edging down by 0.1 percent in July. Economists had expected import prices to rise by 0.4 percent.
The bigger than expected increase in import prices reflected a spike in prices for fuel imports, which shot up by 4.2 percent in August after falling by 0.6 percent in July.
Excluding fuel imports, import prices crept up by 0.3 percent in August after slipping by 0.1 percent in the previous month.
The report said export prices also rose by 0.6 percent in August following a 0.5 percent increase in the previous month. Export prices had been expected to edge up by 0.2 percent.
Prices for agricultural exports inched up by 0.1 percent in August after jumping by 1.9 percent in July, while prices for non-agricultural exports climbed by 0.7 percent after rising by 0.3 percent.
Compared to the same month a year ago, imports prices were up by 2.1 percent in August and export prices were up by 2.3 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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