WASHINGTON (AFX) - US import prices fell 0.5 pct in June compared with a revised 0.2 pct increase in May, the Labor Department said. The fall in import prices was unexpected. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for import prices to rise by 0.1 pct in June. Excluding petroleum, import prices were down 0.4 pct in June. Non-petroleum imports prices have now fallen for the last five straight months. In May, import prices rose a revised 0.2 pct, compared with the initial estimate of a 0.3 pct gain. Excluding petroleum, import prices fell 0.2 pct in May, unchanged from the intitial estimate. Year-on-year, import prices were up 7.8 pct in June, compared with a 2.6 decline for the year ended June 2000. Prices of imported petroleum fell 1.3 pct in June, compared with a revised 4.6 pct rise in the previous month. The 1.3 pct fall in petroleum imports marks the largest fall in import prices since March. Export prices fell 0.3 pct in June, after a revised 0.2 pct fall in May. The decline in June export prices marks the largest decline since March of 1999. Non-agricultural export prices fell 0.2 pct, compared with an unrevised 0.3 fall in the previous month. Prices of imported consumer goods, excluding autos, fell by 0.3 pct in June after remaining unchanged in May. Prices for imports of autos and auto parts rose 0.1 pct in June, after falling 0.2 pct in the previous month. Prices for imports of capital goods declined 0.1 pct in June compared with a 0.1 fall in the previous month. Capital goods import prices have now fallen ten times in the last eleven months. Prices for imports of foods, feeds, and beverages fell 1.4 pct in the month, after falling 0.7 pct in May.