January 15, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Import prices up in December

The U.S. Import Price Index increased 0.7 percent in December. The increase was largely attributable to an upturn in petroleum prices.

[Chart data—TXT]

The index for imports, which recorded only two monthly decreases in 2002, resumed an upward trend in December. Led by volatile petroleum prices, overall import prices rose 0.7 percent last month after falling 1.0 percent in November. 

The petroleum index, which had decreased in the previous two months, rose 7.4 percent in December. Last month’s increase was the largest since the index rose 12.7 percent in April. The price index for nonpetroleum imports also increased in December, edging up 0.1 percent after dipping the same amount in November.

The Export Price Index decreased 0.2 percent in December, after rising 0.1 percent in the previous month.

These data are a product of the BLS International Price program. Learn more in "U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes - December 2002" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 03-13.