Your Economy (No Politics)

[Bullwinkle]

Import, export prices fell in November


WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Cheaper oil helped cut U.S. import prices last month by 1.7 percent, and export prices all fell dropping 0.9 percent, the biggest such decline in 14 years.

The Labor Department Wednesday said November's decline in import prices followed a 0.3 percent rise in October and was the largest one-month drop since April 2003.

The November decrease in import prices was largely driven by an 8 percent decline in petroleum prices, which had dipped 1 percent in October. Despite the recent decreases, petroleum prices were up 30.8 percent over the past year.

The big fall in export prices followed a 0.7 percent rise in October. Agricultural prices declined for the third time in the past four months, but an upward trend over the first half of 2005 led the index up 4.1 percent for the year ended in November.


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