HOUSTON, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Prices for U.S. imports and exports increased 1.0 percent and 0.8 percent respectively in January, but import prices from China recorded no change for the second consecutive month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.
The price index for U.S. imports rose 1.0 percent in January, after increases of 0.2 percent in December and 1.0 percent in November. The 1.0-percent advances were the largest 1-month rises since the index increased 1.2 percent in May 2016.
Import prices advanced 3.6 percent between January 2017 and January 2018.
Fuel prices increased 4.7 percent in January following a 2.9-percent advance in December and a 9.8-percent rise in November. Higher prices for petroleum and natural gas contributed to the increases in all 3 months.
Prices for fuel imports rose 19.7 percent over the past 12 months. Petroleum prices increased 20.9 percent for the year ended in January and prices for natural gas advanced 16.2 percent over the same period.
Prices for nonfuel imports advanced 0.4 percent in January, after edging down 0.1 percent the previous month. The January increase was the largest monthly advance since the index rose 0.4 percent in March 2012.
The last time the index increased more than 0.4 percent was a 0.8-percent rise in April 2011.
U.S. export prices increased 0.8 percent in January. The index has not risen by more than 0.8 percent since the index advanced 1.1 percent in May 2016.
The price index for exports increased 3.4 percent over the past 12 months.
Prices for agricultural exports edged down 0.1 percent in January, after falling 0.3 percent the previous month. The January drop was driven by a 5.8-percent decline in soybean and other oilseeds prices.
Despite the recent decreases, prices for agricultural exports rose 1.4 percent over the past year. Rising meat prices were the primary contributor to the advance in agricultural prices for the year ended in January.
Nonagricultural export prices advanced 0.9 percent in January following a 0.1-percent rise in December. Prices for nonagricultural export indexes advanced 3.7 percent from January 2017 to January 2018, the largest 12-month increase since a 4.0-percent rise for the year ended December 2011.
In January, import prices from China recorded no change for the second consecutive month. The price index for imports from China rose 0.2 percent for the year ended in January, the first 12-month advance since the index increased 0.1 percent in October 2014 and the largest since the index advanced 0.3 percent in July 2014.
