WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S. import prices were unchanged in December as fuel costs declined for the first time in three months, the Labor Department reported on Thursday.
Costs for imported petroleum fell two percent after back-to-back rises of 2.4 percent in October and 6.3 percent in November. For the full year 2009 however, petroleum prices climbed 78 percent while natural gas prices were down 28 percent.
Export prices gained 0.6 percent in December after a 0.9 percent November increase. The rise in monthly export prices was twice the 0.3 percent pickup that analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast but flat import prices had been expected.
During 2009, overall import prices climbed 8.6 percent after declining 10.1 percent in 2008. Export prices were up 3.4 percent after falling 2.9 percent in 2008. (Reporting by Glenn Somerville, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)