Washington, D.C., October 13, 2005—Import prices rose 2.3% in September, according to the Department of Labor. Prices rose to their highest level in 15 years, as costs of natural gas and oil continued to rise.
Economists were anticipating an increase of 0.9%.
Prices for imported natural gas rose 28.8% in September, as imported oil prices rose 7.3%, the Department of Labor said Thursday. Excluding oil, import prices climbed a record 1.2%. Excluding all fuels, prices rose 0.4%.
August's import price index was revised to 1.2% from 1.3%.
Prices for chemicals and building materials both rose as recovery efforts continued for areas hard-hit by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Building materials rose 2.5% while chemicals rose 1.4%.
Capital goods prices were flat in September. Capital goods include semiconductors, airplanes and machine tools.
Prices of U.S. exports, meanwhile, rose 0.9%, the largest increase in 10 years. In August, U.S. export prices were down 0.1%.
