January 11, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Import prices down for third consecutive month

The U.S. Import Price Index decreased 0.9 percent in December. The decline followed drops of 1.4 percent and 2.3 percent in November and October, respectively.

[Chart data—TXT]

The 0.9 percent decrease in prices for imported goods in December continued a year-long downward trend; prices have dropped 4.5 percent over the past three months alone. The ongoing sharp decline for overall imports continued to be led by falling prices for petroleum products, which fell 6.3 percent in December and have fallen 29.7 percent since September 2001. Over the past 12 months, petroleum prices have decreased 38.5 percent.

The index for nonpetroleum import prices also fell in December, down 0.3 percent. This index has decreased in 11 consecutive months and was down 4.4 percent for the year—the largest calendar year decrease for this index since publication began in 1985.

These data are a product of the BLS International Price program. Learn more in "U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes - December 2001," news release USDL 02-20. Note: import price data are subject to revision in each of the three months after original publication.