U.S. import and export prices both decreased in May, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday.
Prices for U.S. imports declines 0.3 percent in May, the first monthly decline since a 1.4 percent drop in December. Import prices advanced 1.8 percent from December to April before the downturn in May.
The price index for overall imports decreased 1.5 percent over the past 12 months, matching the drop in January. These were the largest over-the-year declines since the index fell 2.2 percent in August 2016.
Import fuel prices dropped 1.0 percent in May, after rising 25.4 percent over the previous four months. Lower prices for both petroleum and natural gas contributed to the May decline.
Petroleum prices fell 0.9 percent in May, after a 4.7 percent advance in April. The May decrease was the first monthly decline since a 15.3 percent drop in December. Natural gas prices fell 6.8 percent in May following a 51.1 percent decline the previous month.
The price index for nonfuel imports declined 0.3 percent in May, following a 0.1 percent drop in April. From May 2018 to May 2019, nonfuel import prices declined 1.4 percent.
The price index for U.S. exports declined 0.2 percent in May, the first monthly drop since the index fell 0.6 percent in January.
Lower prices for both agricultural and nonagricultural exports contributed to the May decline.
Export prices decreased 0.7 percent over the past 12 months, the largest over-the-year decline since the index fell 1.1 percent in October 2016.
The price index for agricultural exports declined 1.0 percent in May, after decreasing 1.5 percent the previous month. Agricultural export prices fell 5.3 percent over the past year, the largest 12-month drop since the index declined 9.1 percent in April 2016. A 20.6-percent decrease in soybeans prices for the year ended in May led the overall decline in agricultural prices.
Nonagricultural export prices decreased 0.2 percent in May following a 0.2-percent increase the previous month. The price index for nonagricultural exports also declined 0.2 percent for the year ended in May.
Source :- Xinhuanet.com
