Prices of goods imported into the U.S. fell in December for the fourth time in the past five months as slowing global growth held down commodity costs.
The 0.1 percent decrease in the import-price index followed a 0.8 percent gain in November, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Prices excluding fuel climbed 0.1 percent, the first increase in three months.
Cooling economies from Europe to Asia are restraining global demand while the dollar strengthens, lowering the cost of goods and materials imported into the world’s largest economy and making it more likely American companies will hold the line on prices. The outlook is consistent with the Federal Reserve’s view in its Beige Book that inflation remains “limited.”
“We’re seeing signs of moderation in prices, both in imports and within the U.S.,” said John Herrmann, senior fixed- income strategist at State Street Global Markets LLC in Boston. “The strength in the dollar is a positive. Inflation will stay tame.”
The trade deficit widened more than forecast in November as American exports declined and companies stepped up imports of crude oil and automobiles, another report today showed. The gap expanded 10 percent to $47.8 billion, the widest since June, according to figures from the Commerce Department.
Stock-index futures held earlier losses after the report. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index maturing in March fell 0.3 percent to 1,287.5 at 8:32 a.m. in New York.
