Indexes are compiled for the prices of goods that are bought in the United States but produced abroad and the prices of goods sold abroad but produced domestically. These prices indicate inflationary trends in internationally traded products. Why Investors Care
| Released on 6/12/08 For May 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Highlights
Import/export prices have never shown this much pressure in more than 20 years of available data, at year-on-year rates of 17.8 percent for imports in May and 8.0 percent for exports. Month-on-month, import prices have posted several rare 2 and 3 percent jumps over the past half year including a 2.3 percent jump in May. Prices of non-petroleum imports rose 0.5 percent in the month, down from 1.3 and 1.2 percent spikes in prior months but are now at a record year-on-year pace of 6.6 percent. Petroleum imports, the center of trouble in the economy, jumped 7.8 percent in the month for a year-on-year rate of 68.8 percent -- not a record but one of a handful of plus 50 percent readings.
The export side is also showing pressure, here centered in agricultural prices which rose 0.3 percent in the month for a 33.3 percent year-on-year rise, another a record. Total export prices also rose 0.3 percent in the month with the 8.0 percent year-on-year rate topped only once in the late 80s.
There's signs that rising input costs are being passed through to finished products, including recent acceleration in import and export prices for capital goods which are moving above year-on-year rates of 2 percent, which is very high for these goods. This report will give headaches to policy makers who must now be concerned that the fight against inflation is turning uphill. May CPI data will be released tomorrow.
Import prices surged once again in April, jumping 1.8 percent in the month for a year-on-year gain of 15.4 percent. Higher oil prices led the gain but price increases were strong even when excluding petroleum. Excluding this category, import prices still surged 1.1 percent for the month with the year-on-year gain up 6.2 percent -- the worst reading since the late 1980s.
Import prices Consensus Forecast for May 08: +2.0 percent
Range: -3.4 to +2.8 percent
![[Chart]](chart.gif)
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Yearly changes in import and export prices reveal long term trends in inflation for tradable goods. |
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