US import and export prices both dropped in November, US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has said.
The bureau said the import price saw the largest monthly drop since August 2015, while export price saw the largest monthly decrease since January 2016, reports Xinhua.
The BLS said on Thursday that the US import price index that declined 1.6 per cent in November resulted from lower fuel prices, while the 0.9 per cent decrease in US exports price index was mainly due to lower prices of agricultural commodities like soybeans and nuts.
Over the year, import price increased 0.7 per cent in November, while export price rose 1.8 per cent, said the government agency.
As for imports, the prices of fuel imports decreased 11 per cent in November, which were the largest monthly decline since the index fell 15.6 per cent in January 2016, said the bureau.
Meanwhile, prices for nonfuel imports fell 0.3 per cent in November. Over the past year, the price index for nonfuel imports increased 0.3 per cent, driven by higher prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials, consumer goods and automotive vehicles, said the bureau.
On the export side, the price index for agricultural exports rose 1.8 per cent in November, which was the largest increase since the index rose 3.2 per cent in March. Over the year, agricultural export prices declined 1.7 per cent.
The bureau noted that soybeans prices dropped 10.7 per cent while nut prices decreased 12.3 per cent over the past year.
These were also the primary factors for the decrease in overall agricultural prices, according to the bureau.
Besides, non-agricultural export prices fell 1.0 per cent in November, which was the largest monthly decrease since December 2015.