U.S. prices of import, export mixed in March

HOUSTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. import prices recorded no change, while export prices advanced 0.3 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday.

Import prices recorded no change in March following a 0.3-percent rise in February and a 0.8-percent increase in January, the bureau said.

The index has not declined on a monthly basis since decreasing 0.2 percent in July 2017. Import prices advanced 3.6 percent for the 12-month period which ended in March.

The price index for fuel imports fell for the second consecutive month, declining 1.6 percent in March following a 1.0-percent drop in February.

The March decrease was the largest monthly decline since the index dropped 3.6 percent in June 2017. Lower prices for both petroleum and natural gas drove the decline in fuel prices.

The price index for nonfuel imports advanced 0.2 percent in March, after rising 0.5 percent the previous month.

The price index for nonfuel imports increased 2.1 percent over the past 12 months for the second consecutive month, the largest over-the-year increases since a 2.4-percent advance in February 2012. The primary contributor to the 12-month advance in March was higher prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials.

U.S. export prices increased 0.3 percent in March after rising 0.2 percent in February. The last time the index declined on a monthly basis was a 0.1-percent decrease in June 2017.

Increasing prices for agricultural exports drove the monthly advance, more than offsetting lower non-agricultural export prices.

The price index for U.S. exports increased 3.4 percent over the past 12 months.

The price index for agricultural exports rose 3.4 percent in March, after a 0.6 percent rise in the previous month.

The February advance was the largest monthly increase since the index rose 4.8 percent in August 2012, and was driven by higher prices for wheat and soybeans, which increased 8.0 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively.

Nonagricultural export prices ticked down 0.1 percent in March following a 0.2-percent rise in February.

Over the past 12 months, prices for nonagricultural exports advanced 3.4 percent, which matched the 12-month increase in February. Enditem