US import prices went up 0.5 percent from a month earlier in October of 2018, following a downwardly revised 0.2 percent rise in September and beating market expectations of a 0.1 percent gain. It is the largest monthly increase since a 0.9 percent rise in May. Cost for import fuels increased 3.3 percent, after advancing 0.7 percent in September; the rise was the largest monthly gain since a 6.1 percent increase in May. Higher prices for both petroleum (2.8 percent) and natural gas (24.6 percent) contributed to the advance. Cost for nonfuel imports edged up 0.2 percent in October, after recording no change in September. Higher prices for foods, feeds, and beverages drove the October advance and more than offset decreasing prices for capital goods; consumer goods; and nonfuel industrial supplies and materials. Year-on-year, import prices went up percent 3.5 percent. Import Prices in the United States averaged 108.55 Index Points from 1982 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 147.50 Index Points in July of 2008 and a record low of 75 Index Points in March of 1986.
Import Prices in the United States is expected to be 128.89 Index Points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Import Prices in the United States to stand at 128.70 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the United States Import Prices is projected to trend around 128.74 Index Points in 2020, according to our econometric models.