Mubasher: The US import prices declined 0.4% in June after rising sharply by an upwardly revised 0.9% in the previous month, hitting the steepest fall since 0.5% in February 2016, data released on Friday showed.

This came beyond analysts' forecasts of a 0.1% gain for June, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters. 

Meanwhile, the price index for the country’s imports levelled up 4.3% year-on-year, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported.

The monthly decline was mainly driven by the fall of price index for fuel and non-fuel imports, which inched down 0.7% and 0.3% respectively in June.

Falling prices for both petroleum and natural gas contributed to the decline of fuel prices, which dropped 0.8% and 6% in the sixth month of the year.

The decline in the costs for non-fuel were ascribed to the lower prices for food and beverage, consumer products, capital goods, and automobiles, more than offset higher prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials.

Prices for goods imported from China stabilised in June after edging up 0.1% in the prior month, while they saw a year-on-year rise of 0.5%, recording the largest gain since May 2014.

Moreover, prices for exports from the US rose 0.3 in the sixth month of 2018, compared to a 0.6% gain in the previous month.

Prices for exported goods also advanced 5.3% in the 12 months ended June, registering the largest gain since a 6.3% seen in October 2011.