October 2000 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.

- OCTOBER 2000-

The U.S. Import Price Index fell 0.5 percent in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The decrease was attributable to a decline in petroleum import prices. The Export Price Index declined 0.1 percent in October.

Import Goods

The 0.5 percent decrease in the import price index in October followed five consecutive monthly increases. Imported petroleum prices declined 3.2 percent, after an increase of 11.0 percent in September. Despite the recent drop, petroleum prices rose 43.1 percent for the year ended in October. Nonpetroleum import prices, on average, continued to register little movement and were unchanged in October, after dipping 0.2 percent in September. From October 1999 to October 2000, nonpetroleum import prices rose 1.1 percent. During the same 12-month period, the price index for all imports-led by the rise in petroleum prices-advanced 5.5 percent.

Import prices for capital goods, for consumer goods, and for foods, feeds, and beverages continued to decline in October. The capital goods index decreased 0.4 percent, the sixth consecutive month without an increase. Capital goods prices were down 2.0 percent over the past 12 months. The indexes for consumer goods and for foods, feeds, and beverages both dipped 0.1 percent in October, following declines in the previous month. Over the past 12 months, the indexes fell 0.9 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

In contrast, led by the continued rise in natural gas prices, the index for industrial supplies and materials, excluding petroleum, rose 0.8 percent in October; the index has increased in four of the past five months and was up 9.0 percent over the past 12 months. Prices for automotive vehicles, parts, and engines also increased, edging up 0.1 percent in October and 0.6 percent for the year ended in October.

Export Goods

Prices for overall exports resumed a recent downward trend in October, dipping 0.1 percent following an increase of 0.5 percent in September. Declines in nonagricultural export prices countered increases for agricultural export prices. Nonagricultural export prices decreased 0.2 percent in October, after increasing 0.3 percent in September. Over the past 12 months, this index advanced 1.6 percent. The index for agricultural exports continued a modest turnaround, led by increasing grain prices, and increased 0.7 percent in October, after advancing 3.2 percent the prior month. For the past year, however, export agricultural prices fell 0.5 percent. Over the same 12-month period, the index for overall exports rose 1.4 percent.

The decrease in nonagricultural export prices was largely attributable to a 0.5 percent decline in the price index for nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials, as exported fuel prices-which had jumped substantially in September-fell 5.3 percent in October. For the year ended in October, prices for exported nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials were up 6.1 percent. The export price indexes for consumer goods and for automotive vehicles, parts, and engines both were down 0.1 percent in October. Over the past 12 months, prices for consumer goods dipped 0.1 percent, while prices for automotive vehicles, parts, and engines increased 0.4 percent.

For the sixth consecutive month, the capital goods index was unchanged. Over the October 1999 to October 2000 period, this index edged down 0.1 percent.

Imports by Locality of Origin

The price index for imports from Japan edged up 0.1 percent in October, following declines of 0.2 percent in each of the previous two months. For the year ended in October, the index rose 1.2 percent.

Import prices from Canada, which have declined only once in the past 21 months, increased 1.0 percent in October. The increase was primarily attributable to increasing prices for nonmanufactured goods, which rose 5.3 percent. For the year ended in October, the index of import prices from Canada increased 9.4 percent.

The index for imports from Latin America also rose in October, up 0.2 percent, after gaining 2.6 percent and 1.6 percent in the previous two months. Over the past 12 months, import prices from Latin America increased 14.0 percent.

In contrast, import prices from the European Union dropped 0.9 percent in October, paralleling the decline in the Euro. The decrease, the third in a row, was the largest since March 1997. Over the October 1999 to October 2000 period, the index for import prices from the European Union fell 0.8 percent.

Import prices for goods from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries also declined in October, decreasing 0.2 percent, after increasing 0.1 percent in September. The index declined 1.3 percent over the past 12 months.