MW: U.S. import prices jump 2% on higher oil prices
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Higher crude oil prices drove import prices up by 2% in August, the fifth increase in the past six months, the Labor Department reported Friday. Import prices have risen 7.6% so far in 2009 as energy prices have rebounded. Despite the recent gains, import prices are down 15% over the past 12 months. Imported fuel prices rose 9.8% in August, but are down 39.6% in the past 12 months. Prices of nonfuel imports into the United States rose 0.4% in August, the largest gain in a year. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting import prices to rise 1% in August after falling 0.7% in July. Prices of exports from the United Stats rose 0.7%.
