Import prices, up 0.3 percent in April, got a boost from a rise in oil
but were otherwise flat, at only a 0.1 percent increase excluding
petroleum. Prices of finished imports show almost no pressure at all,
hovering near zero on a monthly basis and barely over zero on a yearly
basis. Import prices of industrial supplies did rise 1.0 percent in the
month reflecting the rise in oil and also perhaps tariffs on steel and
aluminum as durable supplies rose 0.4 percent with iron and steel mill
products advancing a monthly 4.0 percent.
By country, import
prices with Canada are going up the most, 0.6 percent higher in April
for a year-on-year 6.2 percent. Import prices from Europe also rose 0.6
percent in the month with this year-on-year gain at 3.7 percent. These
are offset, however, by very weak prices from China, down 0.1 percent in
the month, and Japan, up only 0.1 percent, with both of these yearly
rates at a very low plus 0.2 percent.
Export prices do show
pressure, up 0.6 percent in the month despite a 1.2 percent decline in
agricultural prices. Year-on-year agricultural prices are up only 1.4
percent and are holding back overall export prices which are up 3.8
percent. One positive sign of price traction is exports of capital
goods, which is the nation's key strength and where prices rose 0.4
percent in the month for a year-on-year rate of 2.0 percent which looks
subdued but is far and away the highest for any finished goods in this
report.
Last year's decline in the dollar gave only a limited
lift to import prices, likely reflecting discounting among foreign
sellers protecting their U.S. market share. And with the dollar
basically flat so far this year, import prices are not likely to be a
source of price pressures this year either. Like all the inflation data
for April, beginning with last week's average hour earnings and
including yesterday's consumer price report, today's import & export
data won't be raising any alarms at the Federal Reserve of
overshooting.
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