The US Dollar closed the week with losses on Friday, as investors reacted to the prices of imported goods rising for the third consecutive month.
The prices of goods made outside of the US, imported to the US, increased more than expected in March, making it three months in a row for price increases on foreign-made goods.
Import prices increased 0.6 percent in March on a monthly basis, more than the expected 0.5 percent predicted by market analysts. However, on an annual basis, import prices were unchanged from March 2018.
Worryingly for the US economy, the world’s largest, was the news that the increase in import price sin February from January was revised up to 1 percent from the initially reported 0.6 percent. The revision makes it the largest monthly increase in almost three years.
As per the PPI and CCI figures also released last week, higher fuel prices were the driving factor behind the raised cost of importing goods. According the US Labor Department, prices of imported fuels and lubricants soarded 6.4 percent last month, following the 9.7 percent jump recorded in February. Meanwhile, import prices which exclude fuels and lubricants, actually posted a monthly decline of 0.2 percent in March.\
Petroleum prices increased 4.7 percent last month, easing considerably from the 9.7 percent increase recorded in February. Industrial supplies and materials also saw an increase, rising 2.7 percent in March.
Export Prices Higher Too
Meanwhile, as import prices increased on a month to month basis, export prices saw gains too. Export prices increased 0.7 percent in March, following an increase by the same amount in February. The monthly increases surpassed market expectations as economists had forecast a 0.2 percent increase.
Export prices increased 0.6 percent on an annual basis last month having made a 0.3 percent gain in February.
