U.S. import prices rise 8.1% from a year ago, most since 2022
Prices for goods brought into the U.S. rose 8.1% in September from a year earlier, the biggest jump since 2022, Reuters and Bloomberg reported. Factory output also rose 0.3% last month, helped by more chip production, Bloomberg reported. The figures add to signs that inflation is spreading, Reuters reported.
Prices for goods imported into the United States rose 8.1% in September from a year earlier, the biggest annual gain in more than four years, Reuters and Bloomberg reported. The 12-month gain was the largest since July 2022, Reuters reported. Import prices rose 1.1% in September from August, more than economists had expected, Reuters reported.
Imported fuel prices rose 4.8% for the month, Reuters reported. Even without fuel and food, import prices rose 0.7% in September and 6.2% over the past year, Reuters reported. Prices of imports from China rose 0.7%, the most since December 2021, Reuters reported. The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has snarled supply chains and kept oil prices high, Reuters reported. "Americans face an inflation threat literally on every front," said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS, according to Reuters.
Separate Federal Reserve data showed factory output rose 0.3% in September after falling 0.2% in August, Bloomberg reported. Total industrial production, which also counts mines and utilities, rose 0.7%, the most in five months, Bloomberg reported. Utility output rose 3.5%, which may reflect strong power demand during the warmest September on record, Bloomberg reported.
Chip production rose more than 2% from August and nearly 20% from a year earlier, Bloomberg reported. Output of motor vehicles and parts fell 3%, the most since October of last year, Bloomberg reported. Without autos, factory output rose 0.5%, Bloomberg reported. "U.S. factories continue to churn out modest increases in goods, driven by the AI boom and healthy consumer demand," said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, according to Bloomberg.
Financial markets still expected the Fed to hold off on raising interest rates later this month and to raise them in December, Reuters reported. The Fed raised its benchmark rate by a quarter point in September, Reuters reported.
What we know: Import prices rose 8.1% over the past year, and factory output rose 0.3% in September.
What we don't: Whether the rise in import prices will change the Fed's plans when it meets later this month.
Where outlets agree Reuters and Bloomberg both report that U.S. import prices rose 8.1% in the year through September, the biggest annual gain in more than four years.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.