US import prices climb 0.4% unexpectedly in February

Washington (DPA -AFX) – a report published on Tuesday by the Labor Department showed an unexpected increase in US import prices in February.

The Labor Department said that import prices rose 0.4 percent in February, corresponding to a revised increase up in January.

Economists expected the import prices to decrease by 0.1 percent, compared to the increase of 0.3 percent initially reported for the previous month.

The report also said that export prices increased by 0.1 percent in February, after jumping by 1.3 percent in January. Export prices should drop by 0.2 percent.