U.S. import, export pricing fell in April

   After a 0.2-percent decrease in March, U.S. import prices continued to fall, declining by 0.5 percent in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
   Export pricing also continued to decrease, falling by 0.7 percent in April after a 0.5-percent decrease a month earlier.
   While consumer good imports rose by 0.3-percent in April, price drops on other non-fuel imports pushed the overall result to a 0.2-percent decline. Over the past year, nonfuel imports have fallen by 0.7 percent. Fuel imports fell by 1.7 percent in April following a 0.6-percent decline a month earlier. Total imports last rose during a three-month span from August to October 2012.
   Import pricing on goods from Mexico fell by 0.9 percent in April, with pricing from Canada and Japan dropping 0.6 percent. The smallest decline came from goods exiting the European Union, where prices only showed a 0.1-percent decrease.
   A 2.2-percent decrease in agricultural export pricing propelled April’s decline in exports, its largest fall since June. Non-agricultural export pricing fell by 0.5 percent. – Jon Ross