-Richard Fisher, Dallas Fed President
US import prices posted the biggest decline in six years in January, adding to signs that domestic inflation could remain subdued for a while. The Labor Department reported that import prices plunged 2.8% last month, the largest drop since December 2008, after falling by a revised 1.9% in the preceding month. It was the seventh consecutive month of declines in import prices. In the 12 months through January prices fell 8.0%, the largest drop since September 2009. Import prices on goods aside from oil also declined, but at a much slower pace, partly reflecting a stronger Greenback and weak overseas growth. Excluding petroleum, import prices inched lower 0.7% from the prior month, the largest fall since March 2009, and were down 1.2% from the previous year. American exporters have been also facing new challenges amid weak growth overseas and a strengthening Dollar, which makes US-made products less competitive on the global market. Export prices fell 2% from a month earlier, the biggest fall since October 2011.
US consumer confidence unexpectedly declined in February from the highest level in 11 years despite strong job gains over the last months, signs of wage growth as well as lower gasoline prices. Consumer sentiment index dropped to 93.6 down from 98.1 in January, pointing to slower spending and uptick in gasoline prices in the beginning of the year.
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