Natural gas prices drive US import costs higher in November
The cost of goods purchased from overseas increased more quickly than expected during the previous month, chiefly as a result of dearer natural gas prices.
According to the Department of Labor, US import prices increased at a month-on-month pace of 0.7%, undershooting economists' forecasts for a rise of 0.8%.
However, the previous month's gain was marked up to show a jump of 1.5%, against a preliminary estimate for a 1.2% increase.
Import price inflation last month was driven by a 2.0% month-on-month increase in energy costs, as natural gas prices leapt by 27.4%, pushing the annual rate of gain to 108.7%.
Total import prices meanwhile were up by 11.7% over the past 12 months, for their largest increase since the year ending on September 2011.