United States Import Price Index m/m

Import Price Index m/m reflects changes in prices for goods and services, which are imported to the United States but produced outside the country, in the given month compared to the previous one.

The largest part of price data is collected from a survey of US importers. 25% of goods and services of the basket used for the index calculation are revised twice a year. Such revision allows taking into account the appearance of new goods in the market and the reduction of the relative share of existing goods in the trade turnover. Weights are given to all positions in the index calculation. The index is not seasonally adjusted. That is why analysts normally measure the index changes over several months for a proper interpretation.

The index calculation includes all goods, except for military goods, works of art, used items (including the restored and renovated ones), charitable donations, railway equipment and certain types of imports (custom capital equipment). Cargo and passenger air transportation are included in the index calculation.

Imports Price Index is used as a deflator for preparing the national trade statistics. Economists use the index to predict near-term inflation. The index is also used for evaluating the change in the structure of trade flows.

The impact of the index on dollar quotes is associated with inflation evaluation. In general, its growth is seen as positive for the dollar.