U.S. Import Prices Edge Slightly Lower In March

(RTTNews) - Import prices in the U.S. edged slightly lower in the month of March, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday.

The Labor Department said import prices slipped by 0.1 percent in March after rising by a downwardly revised 0.2 percent in February.

Economists had expected import prices to come in unchanged compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of growth by import prices slowed dramatically to 0.9 percent in March from 2.0 percent in February.

The modest monthly decrease by import prices largely reflected a sharp pullback by prices for fuel imports, which plunged by 2.3 percent in March after jumping by 1.6 percent in February.

Excluding fuel imports, import prices crept up by 0.1 percent in March, matching a downwardly revised 0.1 percent uptick in February.

The Labor Department said higher prices for capital goods, non-fuel industrial supplies and materials and foods, feeds, and beverages more than offset lower prices for consumer goods and automotive vehicles.

"The March import price data don't offer much comfort about inflation's trajectory," said Nationwide Financial Markets Economist Oren Klachkin. "All we know for sure right now is inflation was cooling heading into the trade policy shock and financial market turmoil."

"The administration has walked back part of the Liberation Day tariffs, but tariffs are still higher today than at the start of the year," he added. "With the administration telegraphing more levies in the pipeline and some tariffs likely to stay in place for a while, inflation could be even higher than we forecast."

Meanwhile, the report said export prices were flat in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.5 percent in February.

Economists had expected export prices to come in unchanged compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department said the annual rate of growth by export prices accelerated to 2.4 percent in March from 2.1 percent in February.

The report said prices for agricultural export were unchanged in March following a 0.6 percent increase in February, as higher prices for soybeans offset lower prices for wheat and rice.

Prices for non-agricultural exports edged down by 0.1 percent in March after climbing by 0.5 percent in February.

Lower prices for non-agricultural industrial supplies and materials and non-agricultural foods more than offset higher prices for capital goods, consumer goods, and automotive vehicles.