Prices for U.S. imports increased 0.5 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, after declining 0.4 percent in August and 0.1 percent in July. The September advance was led by higher fuel prices. U.S. export prices recorded no change in September following declines of 0.2 percent and 0.5 percent the previous 2 months.

Import prices advanced 0.5 percent in September, the first monthly increase since a 0.9-percent rise in May. The upturn reversed the declines in each of the previous 2 months. Prices for overall imports rose 3.5 percent from September 2017 to September 2018 and have not recorded an over-the-year decrease since the index fell 0.2 percent in October 2016.