February 27, 2009 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Export prices in January 2009

Export prices rose 0.5 percent in January after declining in each of the previous five months.

[Chart data—TXT]

The increase was driven by a 6.2-percent rise in agricultural prices as nonagricultural prices were unchanged. The rise in agricultural prices followed decreases in four of the previous five months. Higher prices for corn, soybeans, and wheat accounted for the increase in January. Despite the January increase, agricultural prices fell 9.7 percent over the past 12 months.

Nonagricultural prices recorded no change in January after falling in each of the previous five months. The price index for nonagricultural exports declined 2.9 percent for the year ended in January, the largest 12-month decrease since a 2.9-percent drop for the February 2001-2002 period. Similarly, overall export prices fell 3.6 percent over the past year, the largest 12-month decrease since the index fell 3.8 percent for the year ended in November 1998.

These data are from the BLS International Price program. Export price data are subject to revision. Learn more in "U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes — January 2009," (PDF) (HTML) news release USDL 09-0169.

Related TED article:

• Petroleum import prices fell 55 percent in past 12 months