Oil lifts import prices
Government measure comes in at twice the forecasted gain; seen as possible inflation warning.
May 13, 2005: 8:34 AM EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. import prices rose 0.8 percent in April, the Labor Department said Friday, doubling forecasts as costs for imported petroleum and industrial supplies continued to advance in a potential risk to inflation.
Wall Street had predicted a 0.4 percent increase in the price of imported goods, which are monitored as an early warning of inflation in the production chain that could subsequently show up in consumer prices.
March's import price numbers were revised up to a 2.0 percent gain from an initially reported 1.8 percent rise.
Excluding petroleum, import prices rose by 0.4 percent in April and are 3.0 percent higher year-over-year.
Total import prices have risen 8.1 percent on a 12-month basis, the largest 12-month change since November 2004. That reflects surging petroleum costs which are up 43.1 percent, raising concern about inflation.
April export prices were up 0.6 percent, compared with forecasts for a 0.2 percent increase and the same-sized rise in March.
Petroleum import prices gained 3.1 percent while industrial supplies and materials excluding petroleum advanced 2.1 percent. Auto import prices rose 0.2 percent but prices for capital goods fell by 0.1 percent, matching the decline in the price of consumer goods excluding autos.