Import And Export Prices Show Modest Decreases In July

Thursday morning, the Labor Department released its report on import and export prices in month of July, showing modest decreases in both import and export prices.

The report showed that import prices fell 0.7 percent in July following a 2.6 percent increase in prices in June. This marks the first drop in import prices since prices fell 1.3 percent in January.

A notable decline in the prices of petroleum imports contributed to the drop in import prices, with petroleum import prices falling by 2.8 percent in July after jumping 16.8 percent in June.

Excluding the drop in prices of petroleum imports, import prices fell by a more modest 0.2 percent in July compared to a 0.2 percent increase in June.

Additionally, the Labor Department said that export prices edged down 0.3 percent in July after rising 1.0 percent in the previous month.

The modest decrease in export prices was largely due to a steep drop in prices of agricultural exports, which fell by 4.9 percent in July after increasing by 4.5 percent in June.

Export prices actually rose excluding the drop in prices of agricultural exports, edging up by 0.2 percent in July following a 0.7 percent increase in June.