U.S. Import Prices Rise 0.7% in August as Annual Increase Reaches 7%

U.S. import prices rose 0.7% in August, reversing declines in each of the previous two months, while the annual increase accelerated to 7.0%. The year-over-year gain was the largest since August 2022, when the index rose 7.7%.

The monthly increase was driven by goods outside the fuel category. Nonfuel import prices advanced 0.8%, while fuel import prices edged down 0.1%. Export prices also increased, rising 0.6% in August after a revised 1.4% decline in July.

Nonfuel imports drove the August increase

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday that import prices rose after revised 0.3% declines in both July and June. The August increase came despite another monthly drop in fuel prices, which have fallen for three consecutive months.

Fuel import prices slipped 0.1% in August after dropping 6.6% in July and 3.7% in June. Over the three months through August, the fuel index fell 10.2%, its largest three-month decline since the period ended May 2025. Natural gas import prices decreased 1.0% during August, more than offsetting a 0.1% increase in petroleum and petroleum products.

The longer-term picture for fuel was very different from the recent monthly pattern. Fuel import prices were still 26.8% above their August 2025 level. Petroleum and petroleum products were up 27.3% over the year, while natural gas import prices were 102.6% higher.

Outside fuel, prices increased across several important categories. Nonfuel imports rose 0.8% for the month after increasing 0.3% in July, and the index was 5.5% higher than a year earlier. BLS said that was the largest 12-month increase in nonfuel import prices since May 2022.

Capital goods and industrial inputs moved higher

Prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials increased 2.0% in August after declining 0.9% in July. BLS attributed the gain to higher prices for finished metal shapes and advanced manufacturing products, along with finished nonmetal products such as boxes, belting and glass.

Capital goods import prices rose 0.9%. Computers, peripherals and semiconductors were among the categories contributing to the increase, along with industrial and service machinery and telecommunications equipment. Consumer goods excluding automobiles increased 0.5%, while prices for automotive vehicles, parts and engines were unchanged.

Food, feed and beverage import prices moved only slightly, increasing 0.1%. Higher prices for fish and shellfish, bakery and confectionery products, sugar and distilled alcoholic beverages outweighed declines elsewhere in the category.

Price movements also differed by where imported goods originated. The index for imports from China increased 1.0% in August, the largest monthly rise since that series began in January 2004, and was 3.0% higher than a year earlier. Import prices from the European Union rose 0.9%, prices from Japan increased 0.2% and prices from Mexico edged up 0.1%. Canada moved in the opposite direction, with import prices falling 0.8% after a 2.3% drop in July.

Those locality indexes measure changes in prices over time, not differences in absolute price levels between countries. The BLS import-price program also excludes import duties from the prices used to calculate the indexes. That distinction matters when interpreting the figures because the published measure is not designed to capture the full landed cost faced by a buyer after tariffs or other duties are added.

Export prices rose as the annual trade-price gains widened

U.S. export prices increased 0.6% in August after falling 1.4% in July. Agricultural export prices rose 0.5%, helped by higher corn and animal-feed prices, while nonagricultural export prices increased 0.7% as industrial supplies and materials, capital goods and automotive products moved higher.

Over the 12 months through August, export prices increased 8.6%. Agricultural export prices were up 5.8%, their largest annual increase since December 2022, while nonagricultural export prices rose 8.9%. The export data therefore showed a similar pattern to imports in one respect: the latest monthly increase came alongside a much larger gain when measured against prices a year earlier.

The import and export price indexes measure price changes for goods and selected services traded between the United States and the rest of the world. They are not seasonally adjusted, and BLS notes that the indexes exclude duties. Those features make the 12-month changes particularly useful for separating the broader price trend from some of the month-to-month volatility in individual categories.

August import air passenger fares fell 11.2%, the largest monthly decline since July 2025, while import air-freight prices rose 1.8%. Air-freight prices were 27.0% higher than a year earlier, illustrating how different parts of international trade services can move in opposite directions even within the same report.

The next U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes release, covering September, is scheduled for October 16 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. That report will show whether the August rebound in nonfuel import prices persisted after two months of declines in the overall import index.