August 1997 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes

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-AUGUST 1997-

The U.S. Import Price Index fell 0.1 percent in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The decrease, attributable to falling nonpetroleum prices, followed declines in both July and June. The Export Price Index increased 0.1 percent in August after declining in each of the previous three months.

Import Goods

Import prices, down 2.3 percent over the past 12 months, dipped in August as the continued decline in nonpetroleum prices countered an advance for petroleum import prices. Petroleum prices rose 2.2 percent in August after declining 24.2 percent over the previous six months. The nonpetroleum index continued a two-year downward trend, falling 0.3 percent in August. Over the past 12 months, nonpetroleum import prices were down 1.8 percent.

The decrease in nonpetroleum imports was led by falling capital goods prices, which dropped 0.9 percent in August after falling 0.4 percent in July. Capital goods prices, which have decreased in 19 of the past 21 months, were down 6.1 percent for the year ended in August. In addition, the price index for imported foods, feeds, and beverages fell for the second consecutive month, down 0.8 percent in August following a 2.6 percent decline in July. The import price indexes for nonpetroleum industrial supplies and materials and for consumer goods also fell in August, down 0.1 and 0.2 percent, respectively, after posting increases the previous month.

In contrast, prices for automotive vehicles, parts, and engines edged up 0.1 percent for the second consecutive month after gaining 0.5 percent in June.

Export Goods

The increase in export prices was led by a 0.4 percent increase in the agricultural export price index. In contrast, agricultural export prices were down 4.9 percent over the previous four months and 13.3 percent for the year ended in August. Nonagricultural export prices posted no change in August, the fourth time in the past five months that the index has been unchanged. Over the past 12 months, the index was up 0.3 percent.

The export price indexes for the major finished goods categories were either unchanged or increased modestly in August. Export prices for consumer goods rose 0.3 percent in August following gains of 0.1 percent in each of the previous four months. The index for capital goods, which accounts for about 44 percent of the overall export index, showed no change last month after declining 0.1 percent in July. Prices for exported automotive vehicles, parts, and engines also were unchanged in August after advancing 0.2 percent the prior month.

In contrast, exported nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials prices dropped 0.2 percent last month, a turnaround from the gains of 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent recorded in July and June, respectively. Export price declines for chemicals, selected building materials, and nonferrous and other metals led the turnaround.

Imports by Locality of Origin

The price index for imports from Japan resumed a two-year downward trend, falling 0.3 percent in August after no change in July and an increase of 0.2 percent in June. (See table 7.) For the August 1996-1997 period, the index fell 4.5 percent.

Import prices from Canada rose 0.3 percent on average last month, offsetting the 0.3 percent decline in July. Over the past 12 months, the index was down 0.6 percent.

Prices for imports from the European Union were unchanged in August after falling 0.5 percent in July. For the year, the index fell 1.7 percent.

The price index of imports from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries dipped 0.1 percent in August, the fifth consecutive monthly decline. Over the past year, the index fell 3.4 percent.