September Import Prices Rise 1.1%, Up 8.1% From a Year Earlier

U.S. import prices rose 1.1% in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday, Oct. 16, after a 0.5% gain in August. Prices of imported goods were up 8.1% from September 2025, the largest 12-month increase since the year ended July 2022.

Both fuel and nonfuel imports drove the advance, the BLS said. Export prices rose 2.2% after a 1.2% gain in August.

What did September import prices show?

Fuel led on the month. Import fuel prices rose 4.8% after falling 0.2% in August and 6.8% in July. Petroleum and petroleum products rose 4.6%, and imported natural gas rose 1.6%. Over 12 months, fuel import prices were up 34.5%, and imported natural gas was up 96.5%, the BLS said.

Price pressure was broader than fuel. Nonfuel import prices rose 0.7% and have not fallen on a monthly basis since August 2025. They were up 6.0% from a year earlier, the largest such gain since the year ended April 2022. Nonfuel industrial supplies and materials rose 1.4%, capital goods 0.9% and consumer goods excluding autos 0.4%.

Import and export prices	September	August	12 months to Sept.
All imports	+1.1%	+0.5%	+8.1%
Fuel imports	+4.8%	-0.2%	+34.5%
Nonfuel imports	+0.7%	+0.6%	+6.0%
All exports	+2.2%	+1.2%	+11.6%
Agricultural exports	+2.6%	+0.4%	+9.0%
Nonagricultural exports	+2.1%	+1.3%	+11.8%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Table A. August figures as revised Oct. 16.

What happened to export prices?

U.S. export prices rose 11.6% in the year to September, the most since the year ended July 2022, the BLS said. Agricultural export prices rose 2.6% on the month, the largest gain since November 2022, on higher soybean, corn and wheat prices. Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials rose 4.0%, led by petroleum, natural gas and chemicals.

How do import prices fit with CPI and PPI?

All three of this week's price reports point to energy-led inflation. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% in September and 3.7% over the year, with gasoline up 9.1%, the BLS said Wednesday. Core CPI rose 0.3%. On Thursday, the Producer Price Index for final demand rose 1.3% and 6.3% from a year earlier, as final demand energy jumped 10.8%. Our September PPI brief has the full producer-side detail.

Import prices measure what U.S. buyers pay foreign sellers, so they track costs that can later pass through to producers and consumers. The indexes are built differently and do not translate one for one.

What does this mean for the Fed?

The report is one more inflation reading for Fed officials before their Oct. 27–28 meeting, according to the Federal Reserve's meeting calendar. The rise in nonfuel import prices suggests pressure is not limited to oil and gas. See our FOMC meeting schedule for 2026 and 2027 for every meeting date and decision.

The BLS said the October import and export price report is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 8:30 a.m. ET.