U.S. import prices increased less than expected in March, though the trend still pointed to firming imported inflationary pressures as the Middle East conflict boosts oil prices and snarls supply chains.Economists shrugged off
U.S. import prices increased less than expected in March, though the trend still pointed to firming imported inflationary pressures as the Middle East conflict boosts oil prices and snarls supply chains.
Economists shrugged off the report from the Labor Department on Wednesday and said they expected the oil price surge from the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran to show in April's import price data.
"The less-than-expected increase in import prices most likely reflects timing differences between when the oil that entered U.S. ports was shipped and the spot price of oil," said John Ryding, chief economic advisor at Brean Capital. "The average crude oil price arriving in the United States in March was up 7.8% compared to a Brent price of 45.5%. The bulk of the March oil price increase has yet to show up in this report."
Import prices rose 0.8% last month after a downwardly revised 0.9% gain in February, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices, which exclude tariffs, increasing 2.0% after a previously reported 1.3% rise in February.
The BLS asks businesses to provide import prices for the first business day of the month, or as
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