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U.S. Dec. import prices rise 1.1% vs. 0.8% expected...

By Robert Schroeder
Last Update: 8:30 AM ET Jan 12, 2007

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Prices of goods imported into the United States climbed by 1.1% in December, led by big increases in the prices of imported petroleum and natural gas.

The December data from the Labor Department follows a revised 0.5% gain in November and suggests some inflationary pressure from abroad.

Imported petroleum prices rose by 4.8%, their biggest increase in seven months.

Imported natural gas prices climbed by 10.1% in December, following a gain of 43.2% in November.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting import prices to climb by 0.8% in December. Year-over-year, import prices have climbed 2.5%.