WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. import prices climbed 1.5 percent in January, pushed by a 3.9 percent rise in fuel prices, the Department of Labor said Tuesday.
Petroleum prices pushed 3.4 percent higher, while natural gas prices "surged" 13 percent, the department said.
On an annual basis, fuel prices rose 12.4 percent with petroleum prices climbing 14.3 percent. Despite January's rise, natural gas prices have dropped 18.8 percent in the past 12 months.
Excluding fuel, prices rose 0.8 percent in January over December, the largest one-month climb in non-fuel prices since April 2008.
Export prices also rose, but not as fast as prices paid for imports.
Prices for exports rose 1.2 percent in the month and 6.8 percent over the past 12 months, the fastest 12-month increase since September 2007 and September 2008, when prices rose 7 percent.
The department said the rise in export prices for the year was pushed by higher prices for cotton, corn, wheat and soybeans. Agricultural prices rose 3.2 percent in January over December and are up 23.9 percent since July.
Import prices rising faster than export prices would seem to put the United States at a disadvantage, but prices rising faster abroad than domestically effectively increases the value of foreign currencies, which makes U.S. exports more attractive overseas.
