U.S. Import Prices Rebound More Than Expected In August

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday showed import prices in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of August.

The Labor Department said import prices climbed by 0.7 percent in August after falling by a revised 0.3 percent in July.

Economists had expected import prices to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.4 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of import growth accelerated to 7.0 percent in August from 5.9 percent in July, reflecting the largest over-the-year increase since August 2022.

The bigger than expected monthly increase in import prices was led by prices for non-fuel imports, which climbed by 0.8 percent in August after rising by 0.3 percent in July.

"The jump in nonfuel import prices was partially driven higher by capital goods prices, including a 5% rise in computer accessories prices," said Grace Zwemmer, U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

She added, "The rapid buildout of AI infrastructure will keep this category running hot, while incentives embedded in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act may lead to further prices increases in capital goods beyond computer accessories."

Meanwhile, the report said prices for fuel imports edged down by 0.1 percent in August after plummeting by 6.6 percent in July.

The Labor Department said a 1.0 slump in prices for natural gas more than offset a 0.1 percent uptick in prices for petroleum and petroleum products.

"Although fuel prices decline in this month's report, the recent surge in global oil prices back to $110/barrel means the weakness will be short-lived," said Zwemmer.

The report also said export prices rose by 0.6 percent in August after tumbling by a revised 1.4 percent in July.

Export prices were expected to increase by 0.5 percent compared to the 1.3 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department said the annual rate of growth by export prices accelerated to 8.6 percent in August from 8.2 percent in July.

The slightly bigger than expected monthly increase in export prices came prices for agricultural exports and non-agricultural exports climbed by 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.