|
Import, export prices rise
|
 |
November 9, 1999: 11:09 a.m. ET
October import and export prices rise; September wholesale inventories gain
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Prices for imported goods gained for a fourth straight month in October, led in large part by an increase in petroleum prices, while prices charged for goods leaving the country also rose, the government said Tuesday.
Separately, the government said wholesale inventory levels rose for a second month in September, slightly more than expected.
Import prices rose 0.5 percent in October, following a revised 1.1 percent gain in September, the Commerce Department said. Excluding a 4.9 percent jump in petroleum costs, however, prices rose 0.1 percent. Export prices rose 0.3 percent in October after registering a flat month in September.
The overall increase in import prices was the fourth consecutive monthly rise and a marked departure from 1997 and 1998, when economic troubles in the Far East and parts of Europe depressed prices for oil and other commodities. At the same time, the numbers don't suggest any upward pressures on prices for goods and services -- something economists have been watching for with the recovery of economies worldwide.
"These data are consistent with slightly better pricing power for both importers and exporters, which reflects the improvement in international economic activity," said Steven Wood, a senior economist at Banc of America Securities in San Francisco. "However, the gains are sufficiently restrained as to not cause any concerns about broader based measures of inflation."
Imported car and car-part prices rose 0.1 percent after staying flat in the previous month. Prices for food and drink, meantime, declined 1.1 percent, offsetting some of the petroleum-related gains.
For the 12 months ended in October, import prices were up 4.1 percent after falling 6.3 percent between October 1997 and October 1998. Export prices rose 0.3 percent in the same 12-month period after declining 0.4 percent a year earlier.
Wholesale inventories increase
The Commerce Department also reported Tuesday that wholesale inventories -- the amount of goods sitting on wholesalers' shelves -- rose 0.7 percent in September after rising a revised 0.5 percent in August. Analysts had expected a 0.3 percent gain.
That suggests retailers aren't demanding as much inventory be shipped to their stores from suppliers -- another sign that demand for goods may be slowing down. Most economists expect U.S. growth to slow from its rapid 4.8-percent third-quarter pace.
Investors will be watching Wednesday's report on producers' costs to better gauge the pace of the U.S. economy and inflation. Producer prices are expected to have risen 0.1 percent in October after surging 1.1 percent in September, according to a Reuters consensus forecast. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, producer rises probably also rose 0.1 percent last month after a 0.8 percent September gain.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
