US import prices unexpectedly fall in March on cheaper energy goods

Reuters

Tue, Apr 15, 2025, 5:52 AM 2 min read

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. import prices unexpectedly fell successful March, pulled down by decreasing costs for vigor products, but the inclination is improbable to beryllium sustained amid an escalation successful commercialized tensions.

Import prices dipped 0.1% past period aft a downwardly revised 0.2% summation successful February, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said connected Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices, which exclude tariffs, unchanged pursuing a antecedently reported 0.4% summation successful February.

In the 12 months done March, import prices precocious 0.9%.

The study joined anemic user and shaper terms information successful suggesting that ostentation was subsiding earlier President Donald Trump's wide tariffs connected imports came into effect. The import duties, which person triggered a damaging commercialized warfare with China and plunged fiscal markets into turmoil, person stoked fears of precocious ostentation and tepid maturation oregon adjacent a recession.

Minutes of the Federal Reserve's March 18-19 gathering published past week showed policymakers were astir unanimous that the system faced risks of simultaneously higher ostentation and slower growth, commonly referred to arsenic stagflation.

Financial markets expect the U.S. cardinal slope to resume cutting involvement rates successful June aft pausing successful January, and trim its argumentation complaint by 100 ground points this year.

The Fed's benchmark overnight involvement complaint is presently successful the 4.25%-4.50% range.

Imported substance prices declined 2.3% successful March aft expanding 1.6% successful February. Food prices edged up 0.1% aft being unchanged successful the anterior month. Excluding fuels and food, import prices gained 0.1% for a 2nd consecutive month. In the 12 months done March, the alleged halfway import prices roseate 1.1%.

Further increases are apt arsenic the dollar weakens against the currencies of the United States' main commercialized partners.

The trade-weighted dollar is down by astir 2.6% truthful acold this year, with astir of the depreciation successful March and the archetypal fewer weeks of April arsenic the White House doubled down connected tariffs.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)