After reporting notable decreases in U.S. import prices in each of the two previous months, the Labor Department released a report on Tuesday showing that import prices unexpectedly came in unchanged in December.
The Labor Department said import prices recorded no change in December following decreases of 0.9 percent in November and 0.6 percent in October. Economists had been expecting import prices to increase by about 0.4 percent.
The unchanged reading on import prices came as higher prices for fuel imports were offset by a drop in prices for non-fuel imports.
Prices for fuel imports rose by 0.4 percent in December after plunging by 4.3 percent in November, with the upturn reflecting a 15.8 percent jump in natural gas prices
Meanwhile, prices for non-fuel imports edged down by 0.1 percent after coming in unchanged in the previous month.
The Labor Department said the drop in non-fuel import prices reflected lower prices for each of the major finished goods categories and non-fuel industrial supplies and materials
The report also said export prices rose by 0.4 percent in December after edging up by 0.1 percent in November. Export prices had been expected to inch up by another 0.1 percent.
Prices for agricultural exports increased by 0.4 in December after dipping by 0.2 percent in November, while prices for non-agricultural exports rose by 0.3 percent after ticking up by 0.1 percent in the previous month.
The Labor Department said the price index for U.S. imports decreased 1.3 percent in 2013 following a 2.0 percent decline in 2012. The price index for U.S. exports fell 1.0 percent over the past year after increasing 1.1 percent in 2012.
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