Year-over-year import price indices inflation grew from +1.4 % to +3.0 %.

Analyst Opinion of the Import / Export Price Situation

Per the BLS:

U.S. import prices advanced 1.3 percent in February following a 1.4-percent increase in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Higher fuel and nonfuel prices contributed to the advances in each of the past 2 months. Prices for U.S. exports also rose in February, increasing 1.6 percent, after advancing 2.5 percent the previous month.

Note that:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on February 2021 Import and Export Price Index Data The Bureau of Labor Statistics did not make changes to either the collection method or estimation methodology for the February 2021 release of U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes. Survey response rates for February were 5.2-percentage points lower than those in February 2020.

Import Oil prices moved from a revised +9.0 % to +11.1 % month-over-month, and export agricultural prices up from +6.0 % to +2.9 %

• the markets were expecting (from Econoday):

There is only a marginal correlation between economic activity, recessions, and export/import prices. Prices can be rising or falling going into a recession or entering a period of expansion. Econintersect follows this data series to adjust economic activity for the effects of inflation where there are clear relationships.

Econintersect follows this series to adjust data for inflation.

Year-over-Year Change - Import Prices (blue line) and Export Prices (red line)

There are three cases of deflation outside of a recession - early 1990′s, late 1990′s, and mid 2000′s. Import price deflation is normally associated with the strengthening of the dollar relative to other currencies.