Economic News Release, U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes News Release: “The U.S. Import Price Index rose 0.5 percent in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. A 10.5 percent increase in import petroleum prices more than offset a 0.7 percent decline in the price index for nonpetroleum imports. In contrast, export prices fell in March, decreasing 0.6 percent.”