US import prices rise in April for first time in 2023

US import prices rose in April for the first time in 2023 as fuel import costs rose.

According to the US Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, import prices advanced at a month-on-month clip of 0.4%, with fuel import prices up by 4.5%, even as non-fuel import prices were steady.

Economists had forecast a 0.3% rise.

However, March's drop in import prices was revised down from a preliminary estimate of -0.6% to -0.8%.

In comparison to a year before, total import prices were off by 4.8%.

Export prices meanwhile were up by 0.2%, with those for agricultural exports rising by 0.4% and those of non-agricultural ones by 0.2%.