May 1997 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes

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-MAY 1997-

The U.S. Import Price Index was unchanged in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Imported petroleum prices increased after declining in the three previous months but were offset by a continuing decline in nonpetroleum import prices, down 0.1 percent in May. The U.S. Export Price Index declined 0.2 percent in May.

Import Goods

Import prices were unchanged on average in May after having declined in each of the last four months. Imported petroleum prices rose 1.2 percent in May following large decreases in each of the three prior months. In contrast, nonpetroleum prices fell 0.1 percent, the fifth consecutive decline in this component. For the year ended in May, overall import prices dropped 3.0 percent, attributable to both falling petroleum and nonpetroleum prices, down 9.2 and 2.4 percent, respectively.

The index for capital goods led the decline in nonpetroleum import prices in May, decreasing 0.8 percent. Over the past 12 months, the index for capital goods prices was down 6.2 percent. Imported automotive vehicles also contributed to the May decline in nonpetroleum prices, falling 0.2 percent. For the year ended in May, the index for automotive vehicles fell 0.1 percent.

In contrast, the price index for foods, feeds, and beverages rose 1.7 percent in May, attributable primarily to rising coffee prices. In addition, the import price indexes for nonpetroleum industrial supplies and materials and consumer goods rose 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent in May, respectively.

Export Goods

The 0.2 percent decline in export prices in May followed a 0.7 percent decrease in April. Export prices fell 2.8 percent on average for the year ended in May. Agricultural export prices, down 1.1 percent in May after dropping 6.9 percent in April, led the decline in the export price index for the second consecutive month. Over the past year, the index for agricultural exports has fallen 20.0 percent after rising 24.8 percent the previous year. In contrast, prices for nonagricultural exports remained relatively stable, moving down a modest 0.1 percent in May after rising 0.1 percent in April. Over the past 12 months, the index has not changed by more than 0.2 percent in either direction and was down 0.1 percent over the May 1996-97 period.

The export price indexes for the major finished goods categories displayed little or no movement in May. Capital goods export prices decreased 0.1 percent for the second month in a row. For the year, the index for capital goods, which represents the largest component of U.S. exports, fell 0.5 percent. The price index for exported automotive vehicles also fell 0.1 percent in May, following a 0.3 percent increase in April. Automotive vehicle export prices were up 1.0 percent over the past year.

The price indexes for consumer goods and nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials were up 0.1 percent and unchanged in May, respectively, after both indexes were up 0.1 percent in the prior month. Over the past year, prices for exported consumer goods rose 1.0 percent, while nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials prices decreased 0.3 percent.

Imports by Locality of Origin

Prices for imports from Japan continued to decline in May, down 0.7 percent on average. (See table 7.) The decline matched the index movement in April and was the ninth consecutive monthly decrease. Over the past year, the index was down 5.6 percent.

The index for imports from Canada rose 0.2 percent in May after falling 3.5 percent in the prior three months. For the past 12 months, the index was down 0.9 percent.

Import prices from the European Union rose 0.1 last month after decreasing 1.9 percent over the past three months. For the year ended in May, the index was down 1.3 percent.

Prices of imports from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries fell 0.2 percent in April after a modest 0.1 percent gain the month before. The index was down 2.8 percent in the May 1996-97 period.