While fuel prices showed a notable rebound in the month of August, the Labor Department released a report on Wednesday showing that U.S. import prices rose by less than expected during the month.
The Labor Department said import prices rose by 0.7 percent in August following a revised 0.7 percent drop in July. Economists had expected import prices to surge up by 1.5 percent compared to the 0.6 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.
On the other hand, U.S. export prices increased by more than expected during the month amid another notable increase in prices for agricultural exports.
The report showed that export prices increased by 0.9 percent in August after rising by a revised 0.4 percent in the previous month. Export prices had been expected to rise by 0.5 percent, matching the increase originally reported for July.