By Maria Martinez

Prices of imported goods to the U.S. declined in July due to lower fuel and nonfuel prices, adding to hopes of moderating inflation pressures ahead.

Import prices fell 1.4% in July compared with the previous month, following a revised 0.3% monthly gain in June, data from the Labor Department showed Friday.

Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected import prices to decline 1.0%.

The decline in import prices was led by a 7.5% decline in fuel prices in July, following a 6.2% percent increase in June. The price index for nonfuel imports fell for the third consecutive month, decreasing 0.5% in July, after a decline of 0.6% in June.

U.S. import prices rose 8.8% in July compared with the same month a year earlier, the smallest year-on-year increase since the index advanced 7.1% from March 2020 to March 2021.

Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 12, 2022 08:58 ET (12:58 GMT)