July 1994 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

-JULY 1994-

U.S. import prices rose 1.1 percent in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The advance was the largest one-month increase since October 1990 and was attributable primarily to a continued rise in petroleum and coffee prices. The Export Price Index rose 0.3 percent in July.

Import Goods

The July rise in import prices followed advances of 0.8 to 0.9 percent in each of the 3 preceding months. The recent increases have been led by petroleum prices, which rose 7.0 percent in July after increasing between 5.3 percent and 8.4 percent in each of the 3 preceding months. Petroleum prices had fallen sharply during the last half of 1993.

Prices of nonpetroleum imports rose 0.5 percent in July, somewhat more than the average monthly increase during the first half of the year. This slight acceleration was primarily attributable to a 4.4 percent rise in foods, feeds, and beverages due to a surge in the index for coffee prices. Coffee prices advanced nearly 50 percent in July after rising a similar amount from March to June. In addition, prices of imported industrial supplies and materials, excluding petroleum, rose 0.6 percent in July as prices for paper and paper base stocks continued to post substantial increases.

In contrast, the indexes for import prices for capital goods, up 0.1 percent, and automotive vehicles, unchanged, continued to register comparatively little movement in July. Prices for imported consumer goods, however, edged up 0.3 percent in July--attributable to a 0.5 percent increase in the index for nondurable consumer goods.

Export Goods

The 0.3 percent increase in export prices in July reflected a 0.6 percent advance in the index for nonagricultural exports, the largest increase in this component in nearly 4 years. In contrast, agricultural export prices continued to move lower in July, decreasing 2.1 percent after falling 2.2 percent in the previous month.

The slight acceleration in prices of nonagricultural exports in July was led by a 1.8 percent advance in the index for industrial supplies and materials, which in turn was primarily attributable to a 10 percent rise in prices of paper and paper base stocks.

In contrast, the indexes for exported finished goods continued to show comparatively little movement. Prices of exported capital goods, the largest component of U.S. exports, were unchanged for the second month in a row in July, while the index for consumer goods also was unchanged. The index for automotive vehicles edged up 0.1 percent in July, equaling its June advance.

The index for foods, feeds, and beverages fell 2.4 percent in July, following a 3.0 percent drop in June, as grain prices continued to decline.

Imports by Country or Region of Origin

The price index for imports from Japan resumed its recent modest upward movement in July, advancing 0.3 percent after being unchanged in June.

Price increases for goods from the European Community accelerated slightly in July, up 0.7 percent, compared with advances of between 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent during each of the preceding 3 months.

Canadian goods posted a 0.6 percent increase last month-- primarily due to continued higher prices among nonmanufactured goods- -following increases of 1.1 and 0.8 percent in the 2 prior months.

In contrast to price trends from other areas, the price index of goods imported from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries continued to move lower in July. The modest 0.1 percent decline marked the sixth month in a row this index either declined or was unchanged.