U.S. import prices rose unexpectedly in June, signaling that inflationary pressures may be spreading beyond energy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said import prices increased 0.3% for the month, defying economists’ expectations for a 0.8% decline. On a year-over-year basis, import prices were up 7.1%, the strongest annual gain since August 2022.
Lower fuel costs helped restrain the overall measure, but they were outweighed by higher prices in other categories. The report pointed to rising costs for computers, peripherals and semiconductors, a pattern that may reflect the ongoing artificial intelligence build-out. Industrial and service machinery also pushed prices higher, even as fuels and lubricants fell 0.4% in June.
China was a notable factor in the report. Import prices from China rose 0.9% in the month, the largest increase since January 2008, which the report suggested could be tied to tariff effects. Over the past 12 months, those prices were up 1.3%, the biggest annual increase since the period from November 2021 to November 2022. Export prices to China slipped 0.2% in June, though they were still up 7.4% from a year earlier.
Broader trade price data also showed some softness on the export side, with U.S. export prices down 0.6% in June, the first monthly decline since May 2025. Even so, export prices remained 10.2% higher than a year earlier. The report comes after earlier government data showed consumer and wholesale prices easing in June, largely because of weaker energy costs, but Federal Reserve officials have continued to stress that inflation remains above the central bank’s 2% target.
Source: cnbc.com
