July 1995 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 1995-

Led by declining petroleum prices, the U.S. Import Price Index fell for the second month in a row, down 0.6 percent in July following a 0.5 percent decline in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The U.S. Export Price Index, in contrast, increased 0.3 percent this month, about the same as the increase in the prior 2 months.

Import Goods

Over the past 12 months, the import price index was up 3.7 percent. The decreases in June and July were primarily due to declines in the price of imported petroleum products. The 9.4 percent decline in petroleum import prices in July was the largest monthly decrease in the index since December 1993.

Prices for nonpetroleum imports resumed moving upward in July, rising 0.4 percent after falling for the first time in over a year in June. The price index for nonpetroleum industrial supplies and materials led the turnaround, rising 1.0 percent in July after falling 0.3 percent in June. This index was up 12.3 percent over the past year after having risen only 3.2 percent in the prior 12 months.

Each of the import price indexes for finished goods rose in July after posting little or no change the month before. The price indexes for imported automotive vehicles, capital goods, and consumer goods were up 0.3, 0.2, and 0.1 percent, respectively. In June, imported automotive vehicles prices had fallen 0.1 percent, while prices for imported capital and consumer goods had remained unchanged.

The price index for imported foods, feeds, and beverages was up 0.2 percent in July after falling 0.9 percent in June.

Export Goods

The increase of 0.3 percent in export prices was led by agricultural export prices, which rose 3.6 percent in July, the largest increase in the index since a 5.2 percent rise in July 1993. In the past 12 months, prices for agricultural exports were up 13.3 percent.

In contrast, the price index for nonagricultural exports fell 0.2 percent in July, the first monthly decline in 20 months. The decrease was driven by a continuing decline in the index for exported industrial supplies and materials, which fell 0.9 percent in July following a 0.3 percent decrease in June. Over the past 12 months, however, prices of industrial supplies and materials were still up 13.8 percent.

The export price indexes for capital goods, consumer goods, and automotive vehicles all rose 0.1 percent in July.

Imports by Locality of Origin

Prices of goods imported from Japan rose 0.6 percent in July after remaining unchanged the month before. The July increase resumed an upward trend in this index which had risen 4.2 percent in the first 5 months of 1995.

The price index of imports from the European Union continued to increase in July, moving up 0.3 percent. The increase followed a rise of 0.2 percent in June; over the past 12 months, the index was up 6.5 percent.

Led by a 5.1 percent drop in the prices of nonmanufacured goods, the price index of goods imported from Canada fell 0.4 percent. Despite the decline in July, import prices from Canada were up 6.6 percent over a year ago.

Prices of imports from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries were up 0.2 percent in July and have edged up 1.0 percent over the past 12 months.