(Photo: REUTERS)
The Labor Department said on Friday import and export prices fell in September as the cost of petroleum fell relative to a stronger dollar, 1.3 and 1 percent respectively.
U.S. import prices fell in September by the most in more than two years, which was the biggest decline since June 2012. Still, the drop was shy of expectations for 1.5 percent. The drop in overall import prices was fueled by lower costs for imported fuels, with the cost of petroleum down 6.9 percent.
While the U.S. economy has shown modest signs of improvement in recent months, the global economy is clearly beginning to slow, including in the world’s second-largest economy — China.
But the data in the report also show many non-fuel prices falling, as well, which suggest a stronger dollar was making it cheaper for Americans to buy imports.
The dollar has gained roughly 9 percent against the currencies of U.S. trading partners in the four months up until the month of October. In October, prices for imports from the European Union fell 0.2 percent, while prices for Canadian goods and services dropped 2.3 percent. Prices from Mexico dropped 0.9 percent. Prices ticked higher by 0.1 percent for goods and services from China and Japan.
