October 13, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Import prices in September

The U.S. Import Price Index rose 1.5 percent in September. The increase was attributable to a rise in petroleum import prices.

Over-the-month percent change in import price indexes, all imports and petroleum imports, September 1999-September 2000
[Chart data—TXT]

The 1.5-percent increase in the import price index in September followed a 0.2 percent increase in August. In September, imported petroleum prices jumped 14.1 percent, after an increase of 0.1 percent in August. Over the past 12 months, petroleum prices have risen 53.0 percent.

Nonpetroleum import prices declined 0.3 percent in September, after increasing 0.1 percent in August, and were up 1.1 percent from September 1999 to September 2000.

The price index for all imports rose 6.4 percent over the past 12 months.

These data are a product of the BLS International Price program. Learn more in "U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes, September 2000" news release USDL 00-291. Note: import price data are subject to revision in each of the three months after original publication.

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