US import prices drop as energy price crash like in 2008
Updated : 14:43
The cost of imported goods in the States fell sharply last month as energy prices crashed.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US import price index fell at a month-on-month pace of 3.2% in March (consensus: -3.0%), led by a 26.8% drop in energy prices.
That was the biggest one-month fall in energy prices since 2008, when they crashed 27.8%.
Petroleum prices declined by 27.4%, alongside a 16.5% decrease in those for natural gas.
Outside of energy on the other hand, import prices were unchanged versus February.
Prices for agricultural exports meanwhile were down by two tenths of a percentage point on the prior month, with those for agricultural prices 0.1% lower and those for non-agricultural exports 0.2% lower.
Total import prices were 4.9% lower on a year ago.