Import Prices Fall 0.4% in March

he price of goods imported to the United States fell 0.4% in March, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The decline followed a 0.5% drop in February. Economists had forecast prices to rise 0.2%, Bloomberg reported.

Prices fell 0.3% excluding oil, Labor said. Petroleum prices fell 0.7% in March, before the recent runups started in April.

Prices for U.S. goods exported to other countries rose 0.2%, following a 0.1% gain in February.

rices for all imported goods last month were 4.5% higher than a year earlier, compared with a 7.2% year-over-year rise in February, Labor said.