The price of imported goods purchased by U.S. consumers rose in January by the most in a single month since 1989, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday, as inflation rises again. There were growing concerns that this may be the case.
Overall import prices rose 0.8% month-on-month in January, the largest increase since March 2022. Economists had expected import prices to fall by 0.1%.
Finished consumer goods prices rose 1.1%, the largest single-month increase since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began reporting monthly price trends in 1989.
Prices of pharmaceuticals, dentistry and pharmaceutical materials rose by 4.1%. Imported car prices rose 0.8%, the biggest monthly increase since May 2011.
The capital goods price index rose 0.4%, the largest monthly increase since April 2022.
One of the main reasons the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles the monthly Consumer Price Index, tracks import prices is to monitor their impact on inflation. Since many inputs to domestic production and consumption are imported, they are considered a positive indicator of domestic inflation.
Import prices fell 1.3% in the 12 months to January. This is a smaller year-on-year decline than the 2.4% recorded in December. This suggests that disinflationary pressures stemming from lower import prices due to a stronger dollar and weaker economies around the world are easing.
Imported fuel prices rose 1.2% in January after plummeting in December. Food imports increased by 1.5% in January.
So-called core import prices, which exclude food and fuel, rose 0.7% after being flat in December.
Prices for exports from the United States rose 0.8%.
