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Import prices rise 0.8 percent

Friday, March 18, 2005 | 11:08 a.m.

Surging prices for oil and food led the biggest increase in the price of imported goods since October, reinforcing expectations that Federal Reserve policymakers will raise interest rates next week.

Last month's 0.8 percent rise in the import price index followed a 0.7 percent increase in January, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Excluding petroleum, the index gained 0.2 percent, after rising 0.3 percent the month before.

Prices for imported consumer goods also rose, increasing for a fifth straight month. And costs for industrial materials excluding oil were up 11 percent from a year earlier. The numbers suggest that the Federal Open Market Committee will again raise borrowing costs March 22 to keep inflation in check.

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