Reply #35: Prices for U.S. imports jump 2.7% in March

[Pale Blue Dot]

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The prices paid for goods imported into the U.S. jumped 2.7% in March, the biggest increase in nearly two years, as fuel and food costs accelerated, according to government data.

Import prices have risen more than 1.0% in each of the past six months and they have climbed 9.7% over the past year, marking the largest 12-month increase since April 2010.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected import prices to climb 2.0% last month, The increase in import prices In February was left unchanged at 1.4%.

The continued increase in import costs — one of several main inflation gauges — is likely to stoke growing concerns about rising prices and the potential drag on the U.S. economy. Higher costs for necessities such as fuel and food mean consumers have less money to spend on other things.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/prices-for-us-imports-jump-27-in-march-2011-04-12?reflink=MW_news_stmp