Mubasher: The costs of the US import extended their decline in January for the third month in a row, once again helped by lower oil prices, data showed on Friday.

The price index for the country’s imports went down 0.5% last January, after falling 1% and 1.7% in December and November 2018, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported.

Over the last three months, US import costs fell 3.1%, the largest decline since the period between July and October 2015 when prices slipped also 3.1%.

Fuel import prices fell 3.2% last month, while dropped 22.5% in the past three months, recording the biggest three-month fall since a 29.2%  slide in the three-month period ended February 2016.

In addition, non-fuel prices saw a slight month-on-month decline of 0.2% in January.

Omitting fuel import prices, the importing costs dipped 0.2% last month, on decreases in prices for non-fuel industrial supplies and materials consumer goods, automobiles, foods and beverages, which more than wiped out gains in costs for capital goods.

US export costs fell 0.6% last January for the second consecutive month, as prices for both non-farm and agricultural exports declined.

By 2:44 pm GMT, the EUR/USD pair fell 0.14% to $1.1279.