US imports prices grew for the second consecutive month in April

US Prices for imported goods rose for the second straight month in April, a sign firming oil prices could be pushing up inflation pressures in the U.S. 

As measured by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, import prices rose in April by 0.3%, after + 0.3% in March and revised -0.5% in February. The figure is worse than expected by analysts which estimated a more marked rise of 0.5%. On an annual basis, there was a 5.2% fall in prices.

Net oil imports the import prices recorded a 0.1% rise, representing an annual decline of 2%. The recovery of agricultural and non-agricultural prices has had a positive impact on the price index for exports which rose 0.5%, after remaining unchanged in the previous month, after falling 2.3% in February.

The consensus estimates were for a less pronounced slope of 0.1%. On-year the figure was down by 6.3%. Excluding agricultural products prices for exports rose by 0.5% compared to + 0.3% in March. On a trend basis other hand, they recorded a decrease of 4.6%.