January 1996 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.

-JANUARY 1996-

The U.S. Import Price Index rose 0.3 percent in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the second consecutive month, the advance was attributable to petroleum import price increases. The U.S. Export Price Index rose 0.5 percent after remaining relatively stable over the previous 3 months.

Jan. 1994-95 5.5 24.3 3.8 4.0 -2.8 4.9 Jan. 1995-96 2.6 10.3 1.8 3.0 19.5 0.9

Import Goods

The petroleum import price index rose 5.5 percent in January, continuing the recent upward swing for the index. The index has gained 10.1 percent over the most recent 2-month period and has risen in 4 of the past 5 months. In contrast, prices for imports excluding petroleum fell 0.3 percent in January following no change in December.

The index for food, feeds, and beverages led the decline, falling 2.3 percent in January after declining 0.9 percent in December. All of the indexes for finished goods also decreased in January. Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines fell 0.3 percent after recording no change for 2 straight months. Capital goods decreased slightly for the second consecutive month, dropping 0.2 percent in January. Consumer goods edged down in January, declining 0.1 percent after posting gains of 0.5 and 0.2 percent in December and November, respectively.

In contrast, the index for industrial supplies, excluding petroleum, edged up 0.1 percent in January, after posting no change in the previous month.

Export Goods

Both major components of U.S. exports contributed to the January advance in export prices, the largest since last April. Led by price increases for corn and soybeans, agricultural export prices rose 1.8 percent in January and were up 19.5 percent over the last 12 months. Prices of nonagricultural exports rose 0.2 percent in January, reversing a 6-month downward movement in this index.

The rise in nonagricultural export prices was led by a 0.4 percent increase in the index for exported industrial supplies and materials. The increase in industrial supplies and materials prices followed a 0.1 percent advance in December.

Prices for exported consumer goods rose 0.3 percent in January after having declined 0.1 percent in December. The export price indexes for both capital goods and automotive vehicles were unchanged in January after having decreased 0.1 percent in the previous month.

Imports by Locality of Origin

The price index for imports from Japan edged down 0.1 percent in January, after falling 0.4 percent the previous month. The January decrease was the 5th monthly decline in the past 6 months.

Prices of goods imported from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries also fell in January, declining 0.3 percent. This decrease followed average monthly declines of 0.2 percent over the previous 3 months.

Import prices from Canada also fell this month, decreasing 0.3 percent in January, a turnaround from the 0.4 percent gain recorded in December. The index for Canadian nonmanufactured goods, however, increased 2.7 percent in January after gaining 3.8 percent in December.

In contrast, import prices from the European Union were up 0.2 percent in January. The increase followed gains of 0.2 and 0.6 percent in December and November, respectively.