← 2026-10-16 edition · Sourced reporting
Published Oct 16, 2026, 12:49 PM Central · This version Oct 16, 2026, 12:49 PM Central · As of 2026-10-16
Import prices rose 1.1% in September, with fuel climbing faster
BLS reports import prices rose 1.1% in September: fuel increased 4.8% and nonfuel goods 0.7%. Export prices rose 2.2%. These trade-price measures do not tell a household how much its next bill will change. [1] [2]
Download the Labor Department’s copy of BLS’s September price release and find the category you buy or sell. Retain the reference month and revision markers; these are not retail-bill forecasts. →United States import and export price indices for September 2026, published October 16. Monthly percent changes are not seasonally adjusted. Category rates are not contributions to the total, retail-price changes, import quantities or a household bill forecast.
- 2 source records
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Still open: No supplier invoices, consumer-price pass-through or household bill changes were established. All open questions ↓
Reporting question · As of 2026-10-16
The question: What does the new September trade-price report tell importers and households?
United States import and export price indices for September 2026, published October 16. Monthly percent changes are not seasonally adjusted. Category rates are not contributions to the total, retail-price changes, import quantities or a household bill forecast.
September 2026; release October 16, 2026; not seasonally adjusted · percent change from preceding month
United States import and export price indices for September 2026, published October 16. Monthly percent changes are not seasonally adjusted. Category rates are not contributions to the total, retail-price changes, import quantities or a household bill forecast.
Archive photograph · 2014-06-24 · Exact station location not specified in the retained Commons description.
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Understand the story.
A fresh cost signal
September’s import-price rise follows a revised 0.5% increase in August. Export prices increased 2.2%, following a revised 1.2%. Businesses can use the release to check the price environment for cross-border purchases and sales. [1]
Fuel rose faster
Fuel import prices rose 4.8%; nonfuel prices rose 0.7%. These categories have different weights, so adding their growth rates would misstate the overall change. The separate 8.1% annual import increase compares September with a year earlier. [2]
Check the category and date
Use the release tables to find the relevant goods category before comparing a supplier’s price claim. BLS does not seasonally adjust these indices and can revise the next three months. Its next release is scheduled for November 17; retail bills need separate evidence. [3] [4]
How we know4 scoped claims · 2 source recordsView evidence
Each claim keeps its full assertion, date, source passage and limits. Source counts describe records, not independent corroboration.
1.The new monthSupported
BLS’s October 16 release reports September import prices up 1.1% and export prices up 2.2%; August’s changes are now 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
- Scope
- United States import and export price indices for September 2026, published October 16. Monthly percent changes are not seasonally adjusted. Category rates are not contributions to the total, retail-price changes, import quantities or a household bill forecast.
- Evidence passage
- Opening summary; Table A, August and September 2026 rows, (r) footnote.
- As of
- 2026-10-16
- Limit
- August is revised; September can also be revised. These are price changes, not trade volumes.
Retrieved 2026-10-16T17:03:21.094Z · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
United States import and export price indices for September 2026, published October 16. Monthly percent changes are not seasonally adjusted. Category rates are not contributions to the total, retail-price changes, import quantities or a household bill forecast. Ordinary Chromium reader access to this page failed; the help link supplies a separately verified accessible official destination.
2.Fuel and nonfuel differSupported
September fuel import prices increased 4.8%, while nonfuel import prices rose 0.7%. All import prices were 8.1% above September 2025.
- Scope
- United States import and export price indices for September 2026, published October 16. Monthly percent changes are not seasonally adjusted. Category rates are not contributions to the total, retail-price changes, import quantities or a household bill forecast.
- Evidence passage
- Imports → Fuel Imports and All Imports Excluding Fuel; Table A September and Sep. 2025 to 2026 rows.
- As of
- 2026-10-16
- Limit
- Different category weights; rates cannot be added or treated as percentage-point contributions. Annual and monthly periods must remain separate.
Retrieved 2026-10-16T17:03:21.094Z · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
United States import and export price indices for September 2026, published October 16. Monthly percent changes are not seasonally adjusted. Category rates are not contributions to the total, retail-price changes, import quantities or a household bill forecast. Ordinary Chromium reader access to this page failed; the help link supplies a separately verified accessible official destination.
3.Limits and revisionsSupported
BLS says these indices are not seasonally adjusted and monthly data may be revised in each of the three months after first publication to reflect late reports and respondent corrections.
- Scope
- United States import and export price indices for September 2026, published October 16. Monthly percent changes are not seasonally adjusted. Category rates are not contributions to the total, retail-price changes, import quantities or a household bill forecast.
- Evidence passage
- Technical Note → Import and Export Goods and Services Price Indexes; Revision Policy.
- As of
- 2026-10-16
- Limit
- A trade-price index is not a consumer shopping basket or a decomposition of the effects of tariffs, exchange rates and commodity prices.
Retrieved 2026-10-16T17:03:21.198Z · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
United States import and export price indices for September 2026, published October 16. Monthly percent changes are not seasonally adjusted. Category rates are not contributions to the total, retail-price changes, import quantities or a household bill forecast.
4.The next checkSupported
BLS schedules the October import and export price release for November 17, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
- Scope
- United States import and export price indices for September 2026, published October 16. Monthly percent changes are not seasonally adjusted. Category rates are not contributions to the total, retail-price changes, import quantities or a household bill forecast.
- Evidence passage
- Final paragraph before release table links.
- As of
- 2026-10-16
- Limit
- A scheduled next release is not proof of its future publication or values.
Retrieved 2026-10-16T17:03:21.094Z · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
United States import and export price indices for September 2026, published October 16. Monthly percent changes are not seasonally adjusted. Category rates are not contributions to the total, retail-price changes, import quantities or a household bill forecast. Ordinary Chromium reader access to this page failed; the help link supplies a separately verified accessible official destination.
What remains open.
- No supplier invoices, consumer-price pass-through or household bill changes were established.
- This record does not isolate exchange rates, tariffs, commodity markets or other causes.
- Category price changes do not establish quantities bought or any particular firm’s costs.
- The original release was captured successfully, but the original page returned an error in an ordinary Chromium reader. The practical-help destination was separately verified in the same browser.
A corrected original, new applicable release, changed operational notice or evidence contradicting the selected scope requires a separately identified revision and renewed source review.
THIS STORY IN TIME
Keep the dates with the story.
- Reported development
- Evidence as of
- First retained publication
- This version published
Publication times are Central. A development date and an evidence date can differ. Missing dates remain unrecorded.