U.S. Import Prices Rise More Than Expected in April

By Ed Frankl

Import prices ticked up more than expected in April, raising concerns that inflation in the U.S. could stay higher than planned in the months ahead.

Prices rose by 0.9% on month after climbing 0.6% in March, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data set out Thursday. This was a sharper rise than the 0.3% economists had expected, according to a survey carried out by The Wall Street Journal.

It was the largest one-month increase since the index rose 2.9% in March 2022, the bureau said.

Prices for fuel imports rose 2.4%, driving the overall increase, while prices for non-fuel imports rose 0.7%.

The hotter-than-predicted increase in the cost of imports could add to worries for Federal Reserve policymakers about inflation staying stubbornly high in the U.S. On-month inflation eased to 0.3% in April in data published Wednesday, or 3.4% on an annual basis, a relief after data showed endemic inflationary pressures in the early part of this year.

Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 16, 2024 09:01 ET (13:01 GMT)

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