Investing.com - U.S. import prices rose for the first time in ten months in March, although less than expected, while export prices remained flat, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said import prices increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, compared to forecasts for a 1.0% rise. Import prices fell by 0.4% in February, revised from an initial reading of a 0.3% decline.
Export prices remained unchanged in March after nine consecutive months of declines. That was better than expectations for a fall of 0.2% and following a 0.4% drop a month earlier.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1402 from around 1.1395 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4270 from 1.4272 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 108.25 from 108.31 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 93.97, compared to 94.02 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 31 points, or 0.17%, the S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 6 points, or 0.27%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures increased 12 points, or 0.26%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,263.00 a troy ounce, compared to $1,261.70 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $40.73 a barrel from $40.52 earlier.