US import prices rise most since April 2017 in February, but shy of forecasts
Import prices rose at a slower pace than expected last month, amid a decline in the cost of fuel imports and downwards revisions to data for the previous months.
The US import price index advanced at a 0.4% month-on-month pace in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with the year-on-year rate of gains printing at 3.5% in February.
Economists at Barclays Research had forecast increases of 0.4% and 3.7%, respectively.
The year-on-year rate of increase was the highest since April 2017 but lower than the preliminary estimate of 3.6% for January, which was marked down to 3.4%.
To take note of as well, January's rate of month-on-month gains in import prices was revised down from a preliminary reading of 1.0% to 0.8%.
Versus January, fuel import prices declined by 0.6% on the month while non-fuel import prices rose by 0.5%.
In comparison to a year ago, fuel imports were 17.4% dearer in February, down from January's increase of 68.9%.
On the export side of the equation, prices rose by 0.2%, with those for agricultural exports up by 0.6% and those for non-agricultural export by 0.2%.
"In all, today’s report suggests that import price pressures are holding up well and are likely to be supportive of consumer goods inflation in the coming months," was the verdict from economists at Barclays Research.