Annual import-price growth accelerated to 7.1%, its largest increase since August 2022, while falling energy costs were offset by higher prices for machinery, semiconductors and other goods.
U.S. import prices unexpectedly rose 0.3% in June, defying economists surveyed by Dow Jones who had expected a 0.8% decline. The increase came even as fuels and lubricants fell 0.4%, suggesting price pressures are broadening beyond energy. Annual import-price growth reached 7.1%, the biggest increase since August 2022. Goods from China were a notable driver, with import prices rising 0.9% in June, the largest monthly gain since January 2008, in what the report said could reflect tariff impacts. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. labor data agency) also pointed to higher costs for computers, peripherals, semiconductors and industrial and service machinery, indicating that the artificial intelligence buildout may be feeding into goods prices. Export prices fell 0.6% in June, their first monthly decline since May 2025, though they were still up 10.2% from a year earlier. Export prices to China dropped 0.2% on the month but increased 7.4% annually. The report adds to a mixed inflation picture after the BLS earlier in the week said consumer and wholesale prices declined, largely because easing energy costs followed a brief softening in U.S.-Iran tensions.