February 1996 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes

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-FEBRUARY 1996-

The U.S. Import Price Index fell 0.5 percent in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The decline followed three consecutive monthly increases and was attributable to a downturn in petroleum prices. The U.S. Export Price Index decreased 0.2 percent in February, following a 0.4 percent advance in January.

Import Goods

The February turnaround in import prices paralleled a reversal in petroleum prices. For the year ended in February, import prices increased 1.3 percent compared with a 5.8 percent rise in the previous 12-month period.

The petroleum import price index fell 5.6 percent in February after increasing 9.8 percent over the previous 2 months. Despite relatively volatile monthly fluctuations in the past 12 months, the index was only 1.2 percent above a year ago. The index for imports excluding petroleum was unchanged in February after decreasing 0.3 percent in January. In the 12-month period ended in February, this index increased 1.4 percent.

The index for industrial supplies, excluding petroleum, fell 0.9 percent in February, after declining 0.3 percent in January. The decrease was the largest recorded for this index since June 1993. In contrast, there was a 2.6 percent increase in February in the index for foods, feeds, and beverages, largely attributable to vegetable and coffee price increases.

Other indexes showed little change. The indexes for automotive vehicles and consumer goods both moved up 0.1 percent in February after recording a 0.3 percent decline and no change in January, respectively. Import prices for capital goods decreased slightly in February, edging down 0.1 percent, after posting no change in the previous month.

Export Goods

The February decrease in export prices was broad based, as both major components of the index decreased. For the 12 months ended in February, export prices rose 2.1 percent, less than half the increase recorded for the February 1994-95 period.

Agricultural export prices, which increased in each of the previous 5 months, fell 0.3 percent in February. For the 12-month period, the index was 18.5 percent higher than a year earlier. Nonagricultural export prices fell 0.2 percent in February, the seventh decline in the past 8 months. Over the past 12 months, however, the index edged up 0.1 percent.

Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials led the decline in nonagricultural export prices, falling 1.4 percent in February after posting a 0.2 percent increase in January. During the last half of 1995, the index had declined 5.3 percent.

All of the finished goods indexes were either unchanged or posted slight gains. The export price indexes for both capital and consumer goods rose 0.2 percent after increasing the previous month. For the second consecutive month, the index for automotive vehicles, parts, and engines was unchanged.

Imports by Locality of Origin

Import prices from Japan continued a recent downward trend, falling 0.3 percent in February following monthly declines of 0.2 and 0.4 percent in January and December, respectively. Despite the declines, the index gained 2.2 percent over the past year.

The index for import prices from Canada also fell in February, decreasing 0.9 percent. The decrease was the largest for the index since November 1992 and followed a 0.4 decline in January. For the year, however, the index rose 2.2 percent.

After increasing in each of the preceding 3 months, the price index of imports from the European Union was unchanged in February. During the past 12 months, the average price of imported goods from the European Union rose 4.3 percent.

The index for imports from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries edged up 0.1 percent after declining over the previous 4- month period. For the year ended in February, prices of products from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries recorded comparatively little movement, up 0.1 percent.