A container ship at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, California.
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U.S. import prices surged in November amid an increase in the cost of imported petroleum products, leading to the largest year-on-year increase in seven months.
The Labor Department said on Thursday that import prices jumped 0.7 percent last month after a downwardly revised 0.1 percent gain in October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices increasing 0.7 percent in November after a previously reported 0.2 percent rise in October.
In the 12 months through November, import prices advanced 3.1 percent, the largest gain since April, after increasing 2.3 percent in October.