Recent Updates
- Belgium: Business Survey (Feb)
- Canada: Retail Trade (Dec)
- Canada Regional: Retail Trade by Province (Dec)
- Chile: Producer Price Index (Jan)
- Hungary: Construction Permits (Dec)
- North Macedonia: Depository Corporations Survey (Jan)
- Euro area: Final HICP (Jan)
- Slovenia: Construction Survey (Feb)
- Serbia: PPI Industrial Prices (Jan)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Durable Goods Report: Strong Headline, Weaker Details
New orders for durable goods increased 1.2% (3.5% year-on-year) during December following an upwardly-revised 1.0% gain...
U.S. Existing Home Sales Continue to Slide
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes fell a greater-than-expected 1.2% in January...
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index Tumbles in February
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported manufacturing conditions weakened considerably in February with its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index...
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Decline
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 216,000 in the week ended February 16, down 23,000 from the previous week's...
EMU PMIs Continue to Move Together...Mostly Lower
The composite EMU German and French indices all rose by small amounts...
by Tom Moeller March 9, 2017
Import prices edged 0.2% higher (4.6% y/y) during February following a 0.6% January increase, revised from 0.4%. A 0.1% uptick had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. These figures are not seasonally adjusted.
Petroleum import prices eased 0.7%, though they remained three-quarters higher y/y. Nonpetroleum import prices improved 0.3% (0.8% y/y), the largest increase since July. Industrial supplies & materials prices excluding petroleum jumped 1.4% (7.0% y/y), strong for the fourth straight month. Foods, feeds & beverage prices rebounded 1.0% last month (4.4% y/y), following declines in three of the prior four months. Nonauto consumer goods prices improved 0.7%, but the y/y decline accelerated to -0.7%. Motor vehicle & parts prices remained unchanged both m/m and y/y, after declines in the prior two months. Capital goods prices also were steady (-1.0% y/y) after declining from 2013 through 2016.
Export prices improved 0.3% following a 0.2% rise. The y/y increase of 3.1% follows declines in the last four years. A 0.1% uptick had been expected.
Agricultural commodity prices jumped 1.4% (1.6% y/y), the strongest gain since June. Nonagricultural export prices improved 0.3% last month, and the y/y increase surged to 3.3% after declines dating back to 2012. Foods, feeds & beverage prices jumped 1.4% (1.9% y/y), also after years of decline. Industrial supplies & materials costs gained 0.3% (11.5% y/y) as petroleum prices strengthened 41.0% y/y. Nonagricultural supplies & materials prices excluding fuels & building materials jumped 1.5% m/m (4.4% y/y) after sharp declines dating back to 2012. Capital goods prices improved 0.3% (0.6% y/y), but computer & peripheral product prices declined 3.1% y/y. Motor vehicle & parts prices remained unchanged (-0.2% y/y). Nonauto consumer goods prices eased 0.2% and the y/y decline accelerated to -2.6%.
The import and export price series can be found in Haver's USECON database. Detailed figures are available in the USINT database. The expectations figure from the Action Economics Forecast Survey is in the AS1REPNA database.
| Import/Export Prices (NSA, %) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Feb Y/Y | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imports - All Commodities | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 4.6 | -3.3 | -10.2 | -1.1 |
| Petroleum | -0.7 | 6.9 | 5.9 | 73.3 | -19.7 | -46.0 | -5.6 |
| Nonpetroleum | 0.3 | 0.1 | -0.1 | 0.8 | -1.5 | -2.8 | 0.1 |
| Exports - All Commodities | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 3.1 | -3.2 | -6.3 | -0.5 |
| Agricultural | 1.4 | 0.1 | -0.2 | 1.6 | -5.4 | -13.3 | -2.7 |
| Nonagricultural | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 3.3 | -3.0 | -5.5 | -0.3 |
