The May price index for U.S. imports rose...>

US DATA: The May price index for U.S. imports rose by 1.0% alongside a 0.5%

uptick in the export price index, according to the latest BLS figures this

morning. Both indexes fell shy of the 0.7% uptick expected for each index,

according to the BBG estimates. However, the rise in export and import price

hikes thwarted three straight months of decreases in both indexes. Fuel import

prices saw a 20.5% jump in May after three months of steep decline as the

aftershock of the global plummet in oil prices begins to subside. Non-fuel

import prices saw a modest 0.1% uptick after falling -0.5% in April.

Agricultural export prices fell -0.5% as lower prices for corn, dairy, and

soybeans outweighed higher prices for meat, cotton, and vegetables. May saw the

fourth straight month of decreases in U.S. ag export prices. Non-ag export

prices also grew by o.6%, halting three straight months of decreases as rising

prices for non-ag industrial supplies and materials outweighed falling prices

for consumer goods, capital goods, autos, and non-agricultural foods.