WASHINGTON, May 10 (UPI) -- U.S. import prices fell 0.5 percent in April, the first decrease since October, the Department of Labor said Thursday.
Prices dropped following a revised gain of 1.5 percent in March and a revised figure for February, when import prices, the department said, were unchanged.
With the revision for February, prices were unchanged for three consecutive months, starting in December 2011.
With the price drop in April, import prices have fallen in five of the past 12 months. Despite those drops, import prices as of April were up 0.5 percent for the previous 12 months.
In the past 12 month, import prices for fuel are down 1.7 percent, a sharp drop from the 37.3 percent price gain for imported fuel from April 2010 to April 2011.
From March to April, prices for imported fuel fell 2.1 percent, which "more than offset a small increase in non-fuel prices," the department said.
For non-fuel imports, prices rose 0.1 percent March to April. For the 12 months prior, non-fuel import prices have risen 1.3 percent.
Export prices rose month-to-month, climbing 0.4 percent. Export prices for agricultural goods rose 2 percent, while prices for non-agricultural exports rose 0.2 percent.
