MNI: U.S. import prices for April dropped -2.6%,.....>

MNI: U.S. import prices for April dropped -2.6%, the largest m/m fall since

January 2015 when the index fell -3.2% percent. The drop was not as steep as the

-3.2% expected by markets, according the BBG estimates. March's import prices

were revised down by 0.1 points to -2.4%. U.S. import prices fell y/y by -6.8%,

the biggest 12-month fall since December 2015, when the index dropped -8.3%.

Import fuel prices fell by -31.5%, the biggest m/m decline since that index was

first published in September 1992. Export prices dropped -3.3%, outpacing the

expected -2.3%. The BLS said the decline "was the largest 1-month decrease in

export prices since the index was first published on a monthly basis in December

1988." U.S. agricultural export prices fell by -3.1% with non-ag prices falling

by -3.3%, driven by lower non-ag industrial supplies and materials prices

(-9.7%) and lower consumer goods (ex. auto) prices (-0.3%).