Higher petroleum prices pushed the cost of goods imported to the U.S. up 0.8 percent in February, a bit more than expected, a government report said Friday.
Economists had forecast a 0.7 percent increase in import prices after a downwardly revised 0.7 percent increase in January. Import prices for the previous month were originally reported as a 0.9 percent rise.
The cost of petroleum imports advanced 3.9 percent last month following a 3.4 percent January increase. Petroleum import prices have jumped 29.6 percent over the past 12 months despite declining in the final two months of 2004, the government reported.
