January 1998 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 1998-

The U.S. Import Price Index fell 1.3 percent in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The decrease was attributable to continuing declines in both petroleum and nonpetroleum prices and followed a 0.9 percent drop in December. The U.S. Export Price Index also fell in January, decreasing 0.6 percent after falling 0.4 percent in December.

Import Goods

The January decline in import prices marked the largest decrease since a similar drop in March 1997. For the 12 months ended in January, the import index decreased 6.1 percent. Petroleum prices fell 9.9 percent last month, the largest decrease since December 1993, and declined 18.2 percent over the past three months. For the year ended in January, the petroleum index was down 32.6 percent. Nonpetroleum import prices fell 0.6 percent in January, the largest monthly decline for the index in five years. For the January 1997-98 period, the nonpetroleum price index decreased 3.1 percent after declining 1.9 percent over the previous 12-month period.

The index for imported capital goods continued to move lower in January, decreasing 0.8 percent. Over the past 12 months, the index was down 6.6 percent compared with a 5.4 percent drop in the previous 12-month period. Import prices for industrial supplies and materials excluding petroleum fell 1.3 percent in January after falling 1.4 percent in December. After increasing in December, the indexes for foods, feeds, and beverages, as well as consumer goods each fell last month dropping 0.7 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. For the second consecutive month, average prices for imported automotive vehicles, parts, and engines edged down 0.1 percent.

Export Goods

The price index for all export goods declined for the fourth time in the last five months, as both agricultural and nonagricultural export prices declined. The decrease last month was the largest posted since September 1996. For the 12 months ended in January, export prices fell 1.8 percent. Agricultural export prices fell for the second consecutive month, down 2.8 percent in January after falling 0.8 percent in December. The January decline in agricultural prices was the largest since September 1996 and was led by falling prices for grains and oilseeds. The agricultural index has fallen in eight of the past 10 months and was down 5.8 percent for the January 1997-98 period. Nonagricultural export prices fell 0.3 percent in January, following decreases in the four previous months. For the year ended in January, the index dropped 1.3 percent compared with a 0.6 percent drop in the preceding year.

The December drop in nonagricultural export prices was led by the ongoing downward trend in export prices for industrial supplies and materials. Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials fell 1.2 percent in January and were down 2.4 percent over the past 12 months. The capital goods index, which accounts for more than 40 percent of aggregate exports, edged down 0.1 percent last month after dropping 0.3 percent in December. The index fell in four of the past five months and was down 1.7 percent for the year. Consumer goods also fell in January, down 0.2 percent, after a slight gain of 0.1 percent over the previous three months.

In contrast, the index for automotive vehicles edged up 0.1 percent in January. Over the past 12 months, the index rose 0.7 percent.

Imports by Locality of Origin

Prices for imports from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries continued to decline in January, down 1.2 percent. (See table 7.) The decline was the largest since the index was first published monthly in 1993. The index declined 3.1 percent in the past three months and was down 5.8 percent for the year ended in January. (Note: The index includes imports from Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.)

Prices of goods imported from Japan also continued a two-year downward trend, falling 1.0 percent in January. The decrease was the largest posted since monthly publication of the index began in 1993. Over the past 12 months, prices of imported Japanese goods fell 5.4 percent.

The price index for imports from Canada fell 0.5 percent in January, following declines of 1.2 percent and 0.2 percent in the previous two months, respectively. Over the past 12 months, the index was down 4.7 percent.

Prices for imports from the European Union reversed trend last month, dropping 0.5 percent after three consecutive monthly increases. The index decreased 2.1 percent over the January 1997-98 period.

Prices for goods imported from Latin America, published beginning with this release, also fell last month, decreasing 2.7 percent. The decrease was largely attributable to falling prices for crude and refined petroleum products.