US import prices - a component of inflation - rose 0.7pc in December compared with a 1.0pc decline in November, according to figures released today by the Labor Department. The increase, which was the largest since September, was generally in line with market expectations. A consensus forecast of Wall Street economists called for import prices to rise 0.8pc in December. Excluding petroleum, import prices were up 0.1pc in December. Import prices, excluding the petroleum sector, were revised to a 0.1pc fall in November, compared with the initial estimate of a 0.1pc increase.
Import prices were up 4.2pc in the year ended December 2002, compared with a 9.1 decline for the year ended December 2001. Prices of imported petroleum increased 7.4pc in December, compared with a revised 9.2pc drop in the previous month. The rise in imported petroleum prices is the largest since April. Overall export prices fell 0.2pc in December, after a 0.1pc rise in November. The decline in export prices was the largest since February 2002. Non-agricultural export prices fell 0.1pc in December for the second straight month.//www.fxcentre.com