Imports to the United States became more expensive in August as fuel prices posted their biggest jump since January while the U.S. dollar’s value continued its southward journey.
According to the latest data on import and export price indexes posted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, import prices rose 0.6% in August, recording their biggest advance since January, when the import price index also increased by 0.6%. In fact, import prices had been declining since April. Before January, the last time that import prices rose more than 0.6% was in June 2016, when a 0.7% increase in prices was recorded.
Over the past 12 months, import prices have risen by 2.1%.
Although both fuel and non-fuel imports became more expensive in August, it was the petroleum imports that posted the most significant hike in prices. Petroleum prices jumped 4.8% in August, causing overall imported fuel to log a 4.2% increase in prices—again, the biggest jump since January. Between August 2016 and August of this year, petroleum prices have hiked a whopping 15.8%.
The August data does not include the impact from Hurricane Harvey, which caused the country’s biggest oil refineries to temporarily shut down, causing millions of barrels of oil to be kept out of the market. The September data could record an even higher jump in imported fuel prices, as America tapped into its reserves to meet the country’s demand for oil.
Meanwhile, all other exports, excluding fuel, reported an increase in prices by 0.3% in August. Year-over-year, non-fuel import prices rose by 1.0%. The year-over-year increase is attributable to a rise in prices of all major finished import goods—most significantly industrial goods—as well as food, feed, and beverage imports. All of these goods have become more expensive in the last 12 months as the dollar has been losing its value.
Export prices have also risen over this period, partly due to the rising fuel prices..
Source:-Americaclosed.com
