January 14, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Import prices in December

The U.S. Import Price Index increased 0.2 percent in December. The increase was led by a continued rise in petroleum prices.

[Chart data—TXT]

The price index for overall imports rose for the third consecutive month. From December 2002-December 2003, the index was up 1.9 percent, following a 4.2-percent increase over the previous year. 

The December increase was led by higher petroleum prices, which were up 1.8 percent in December, after rising 2.1 percent in November and 1.5 percent in October. From December 2002-2003, import petroleum prices rose 9.1 percent, after surging 56.9 percent during the previous year. 

Prices for nonpetroleum imports edged up 0.1 percent in December, following a 0.2-percent increase in November. Nonpetroleum import prices rose 1.0 percent over the past year. 

Export prices advanced for the fourth consecutive month, up 0.2 percent in December. Export prices rose 2.2 percent over the past 12 months, following a 1.0-percent increase during the previous year.

These data are from the BLS International Price program. Import and export price data are subject to revision. Learn more in "U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes - December 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-27.