WASHINGTON—U.S. import prices dropped for a seventh straight month in January amid declining costs for energy products, leading to the smallest annual increase in imported inflation in two years.
The report from the Labor Department on Friday, however, did little to assuage financial market fears the Federal Reserve could maintain its interest hiking campaign through the summer after data this week showed a jump in monthly consumer and producer prices in January, suggesting a slow disinflation journey.
Import prices fell 0.2 percent last month after slipping 0.1 percent in December. The drop in import prices, which exclude tariffs, was in line with economists’ expectations….