Prices of goods imported into the U.S. rose more than forecast in April as a slumping dollar and growing economies overseas pushed up the cost of fuel and food.
Today’s [U.S. Department of Labor] report showed the cost of goods from China rose 0.4 percent, while those from Japan were increased 0.3 percent. Goods from Latin America climbed 3.5 percent and those from the European Union increased 0.8 percent. Prices of Canadian imports rose 2.4 percent, and goods from Mexico advanced 2.5 percent.
The import-price index is the first of three monthly price gauges from the Labor Department. Producer prices are due May 12 and the consumer-price index on the following day. The Bloomberg survey median for those measures indicates inflation excluding volatile food and fuel expenses remains contained.