September 13, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Import and export prices up again in August

The U.S. Import Price Index increased 0.3 percent in August following a 0.4-percent rise in July. The increase was the fifth in the past six months and was led by a rise in petroleum prices.

Over-the-month percent change in price index for imports, August 2001-August 2002 (not seasonally adjusted)
[Chart data—TXT]

Petroleum prices were up 2.1 percent last month after gaining 4.3 percent in July. The petroleum index, which increased in seven of the past eight months, has advanced 51.8 percent since December 2001. The price index for nonpetroleum imports also rose in August, edging up 0.1 percent after no change in July.

Led by the continued rise in agricultural export prices, the index for overall exports edged up 0.1 percent in August, after gaining 0.3 percent in the previous month.

These data are a product of the BLS International Price program. Learn more in "U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes - August 2002" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 02-516.