WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. import prices dropped for a seventh straight month in January amid declining costs for energy products, leading to the smallest annual increase in imported inflation since late 2020, government data showed on Friday.
Import prices fell 0.2% last month after slipping 0.1% in December, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices, which exclude tariffs, falling 0.2%. In the 12 months through January, import prices increased 0.8%. That was the smallest gain since December 2020 and followed a 3.0% rise in December.
Imported fuel prices dropped 4.9% after declining 4.4% in December. Petroleum prices fell 4.5%. The cost of imported food surged 1.3%. Excluding fuel and food, import prices gained 0.2%. These so-called core import prices increased 0.4% in December.
Data this week showed an acceleration in monthly consumer and producer prices in January, fanning financial market fears that the Federal Reserve could maintain its interest hiking campaign through summer.
The Fed has raised its policy rate by 450 basis points since last March from near zero to a 4.50%-4.75% range, with the bulk of the increases between May and December. Though two additional rate hikes of 25 basis points are expected in March and May, financial markets are betting on another increase in June.
(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
