Economists expected US import prices to fall 0.7% in June. Instead, they rose 0.3%. That’s a full percentage point swing from consensus, and the kind of miss that makes the Federal Reserve’s job considerably harder.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics published the data on July 17, revealing that year-over-year import prices climbed 7.1%, the largest annual increase since August 2022.
What’s driving the surprise
Fuel and lubricants prices actually declined 0.4% on the month. The real driver was everything else.
Nonfuel import prices rose 0.4% month-over-month. Core import prices, which strip out both food and fuels, climbed 0.4% on the month and 4.6% year-over-year.
