November 09, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Sharp drop in import prices in October

The U.S. Import Price Index decreased 2.4 percent in October. The decline, the largest since the Bureau began monthly publication of this index in 1989, was primarily attributable to a sharp decrease in petroleum prices. 

[Chart data—TXT]

October's decline in import prices was led by a 15.7-percent fall in the price index for petroleum and petroleum products, the biggest decline in this component since 1991. Meanwhile, the index for nonpetroleum import prices also fell in October, down 0.4 percent.

The overall decrease in import prices for the 12 months ended in October was 7.4 percent. From October 2000 to October 2001, the petroleum index dropped 32.5 percent. The nonpetroleum index dropped 3.1 percent from October 2000 to October 2001. 

Despite the disruption in the metropolitan Washington mail service, response rates for October were not appreciably different from normal levels. 

These data are a product of the BLS International Price program. Learn more in "U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes - October 2001," news release USDL 01-403. Note: import price data are subject to revision in each of the three months after original publication.