October 14, 2008 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Import prices decline again in September 2008

Import prices fell 3.0 percent in September, the largest one-month decline since April 2003. Despite the 5.5-percent drop over August and September, the largest two-month decline since the index was first published monthly in December 1988, import prices were still up 14.5 percent over the past year.

[Chart data—TXT]

The September decrease in import prices was led by a 9.0-percent decline in petroleum prices, the largest monthly drop since October 2006. The September decline in petroleum prices followed an 8.2-percent decrease in August; however, the index still rose 47.1 percent over the past 12 months.

Nonpetroleum import prices also fell in September, declining 0.9 percent after a 0.5-percent drop in August. Prices for nonpetroleum imports rose 6.5 percent for the year ended in September.

These data are from the BLS International Price program. Import price data are subject to revision. Learn more in "U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes -- September 2008," (PDF) (HTML) news release USDL 08-1424.