U.S. Import Prices Unexpectedly Rose in December on Soaring Natural Gas Prices

By Xavier Fontdegloria

Prices of imported goods to the U.S. increased in December, breaking a streak of five consecutive months of declines, due to higher prices of natural gas.

Import prices rose 0.4% in December on month after dropping 0.7% in November, its first increase since June, data from the Labor Department showed Friday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected prices to decline 0.8%.

The rise in import prices was driven by both higher fuel and nonfuel prices. Fuel prices rose 0.6%, as a 59.5% monthly increase in natural gas prices more than offset a 2.7% drop in petroleum prices. Excluding fuels, prices increased 0.4%, its first monthly rise since April.

On an annual basis, import prices increased 3.5% in December, up from a 2.7% on-year increase in November.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-13-23 0858ET