WASHINGTON – May provided little slowdown of rising import prices, as higher levels of oil and industrial supply prices drove a 0.9-percent increase in the cost of imports, according to the U.S. Labor Department. The rise followed a 1.4-percent gain in April.
Despite increasing price pressure from overseas, prices excluding petroleum increased 0.5 percent, while the price of imported consumer goods remained unchanged, according to Bloomberg News.
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Rising import prices “do suggest some upward pressure,” Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto, said before the report. “Ultimately, we could see price increases. Energy prices are still moving up, and the weaker dollar is certainly not helping.”
The cost of imported capital goods was unchanged last month from April but declined 0.1 percent from a year earlier. Prices of imported automobiles, parts and engines rose 0.2 percent.
Bridgestone Corp. and Michelin & Cie., the world’s two largest tiremakers, have raised prices after higher costs for natural rubber and oil products squeezed profits. “In the coming year, we’ll continue to operate in the context of high raw materials costs,” Michelin Chief Financial Officer Jean-Dominique Senard told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting May 11.
In a separate report today, U.S. retail sales increased in May by the largest amount in more than a year and more than twice the median forecast in a survey of economists by Bloomberg. The 1.4-percent increase in sales followed a 0.1-percent drop in April, the Commerce Department said.
