BLS: February US Import Price Index Up 0.4%, Below Expectations


   
Maria Eugenia Garcia
DTN Energy Editor

   HOUSTON, TX (DTN) -- Prices for U.S. imports advanced 0.4% for the second 
consecutive month in February, driven by higher fuel and non-fuel prices, the 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. This was above market 
expectations.

   Fuel import prices rose 1.7% in February following increases of 3.5% in 
January and 1.2% in December. Higher prices for both petroleum and natural gas 
contributed to all three monthly gains, according to the BLS.

   Prices for import fuel rose 2.8% for the year ended in February. Petroleum 
prices advanced 1.7% in February and were up 2.0% over the past 12 months.

   The price index for import natural gas rose 14.0% in February compared to an 
11.5% increase reported the previous month, while increasing 49.9% 
year-over-year.

   The BLS reported that the price index for U.S. exports rose 0.1% in 
February, below a 1.3% gain recorded the previous month and a 0.5% gain in 
December. U.S. exports also were below the 0.7% increase recorded in the same 
month of last year. Higher prices for non-agricultural and agricultural exports 
each contributed to the increase in February.

   U.S. export prices have not declined on a one-month basis since September 
2024, the BLS stated.




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