Quote:

U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - JULY 2012

U.S. import prices declined 0.6 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, after
decreasing 2.4 percent in June and 1.5 percent in May. In each of the past three months, falling prices for
both fuel and nonfuel imports contributed to the overall drop. In contrast, U.S. export prices rose 0.5 percent
in July following a 1.7 percent decline the previous month.


Imports

All Imports: Prices of U.S. imports fell 0.6 percent in July, the fourth consecutive monthly decline for the
index following a 1.4 percent increase in March. Import prices also fell over the past 12 months, declining
3.2 percent after increasing 13.7 percent between July 2010 and July 2011. The July 2011-12 drop was the
largest year-over-year decline in import prices since the index fell 5.6 percent for the year ended October
2009.

Fuel Imports: The price index for import fuel decreased 1.2 percent in July following declines of 8.8
percent, 5.6 percent, and 0.9 percent, respectively, in the previous three months. The July drop was led by a
1.6 percent decrease in petroleum prices. Fuel prices declined 13.0 percent over the past year after advancing
44.8 percent over the previous 12 months. A 12.3 percent drop in petroleum prices and a 34.5 percent
decrease in natural gas prices each contributed to the decline in fuel prices for the July 2011-12 period.

All Imports Excluding Fuel: Nonfuel prices also fell in July, declining 0.4 percent following a 0.3 percent
decrease in June and a 0.1 percent drop in May. The July decline was the largest monthly drop since a 0.4
percent decrease in June 2010, and was driven by lower prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials
and foods, feeds, and beverages. Despite the decline over the past three months, nonfuel import prices were
unchanged for the year ended in July as higher finished goods prices offset falling prices for nonfuel
industrial supplies and materials and foods, feeds, and beverages.