U.S. Import Prices Unexpectedly Flat In June, Jump 1.6% Year-Over-Year

(RTTNews) - The Labor Department released a report on Tuesday showing import prices in the U.S. were unexpectedly flat in the month of June.

The report said import prices were unchanged in June after dipping by a revised 0.2 percent in May. Economists had expected import prices to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.4 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.

Import prices came in flat as a notable decrease by price for fuel imports was offset by an increase in prices for non-fuel import prices.

The Labor Department said prices for fuel imports slumped by 1.0 percent, while prices for non-fuel imports rose by 0.2 percent.

Compared to the same month a year ago, import prices were June were up by 1.6 percent, reflecting the largest year-over-year increase since December 2022.

"Though the link between import prices and consumer prices is not one for one, the import price report should help instill further confidence inflationary pressures in the broader economy are not accelerating and allow the Federal Reserve to begin cutting rates in September," said Matthew Martin, U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said export prices declined by 0.5 percent in June after falling by a revised 0.7 percent in May.

Export prices were expected to edge down by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.6 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.

While the report said prices for agricultural exports climbed by 0.6 percent, prices for non-agricultural slid by 0.6 percent.

Despite recent declines, prices for U.S. exports advanced 0.7 percent over the past 12 months.