Nonfuel import prices rise 5.5%, the most since May 2022, as fuel falls

Nonfuel U.S. import prices rose 0.8% in August and 5.5% from a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday, the largest annual increase since 5.9% in the year ended May 2022. Fuel import prices fell 0.1% on the month and have dropped 10.2% over three months, even as they remain 26.8% higher than a year earlier.

All import prices rose 0.7% after back-to-back 0.3% declines, taking the 12-month gain to 7.0%, the largest since the 7.7% rise in the year ended August 2022. A 0.4% monthly increase and a 6.7% annual increase had been forecast. Nonfuel industrial supplies and materials, 14.5% of the index, rose 2.0% after a 0.9% drop in July, adding 0.29 percentage points to the headline increase, with finished metals shapes leading. Capital-goods prices increased 0.9% on computers, peripherals, and semiconductors. Reuters said an artificial-intelligence spending boom is driving up prices for imported capital goods. Consumer goods excluding automotives rose 0.5%.

Last week, the CPI rose 0.4% in August and 3.4% over 12 months, with prices excluding food and energy up 0.3% and 2.4%. The producer-price index for final demand rose 0.4% and 5.4% from a year earlier. The BLS import series excludes duties, recording what foreign sellers charged.

As of 9:45 a.m. Eastern, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% near 7,601 and the 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.97%. West Texas Intermediate was at $103.64 a barrel, down 2.1%, with Brent at $107.21. The Fed is expected to hike with oil still above $100 at 2 p.m. Eastern. This morning's import-price print is a third August inflation reading the Fed already has in hand. It does not move the 2 p.m. decision.