Import prices rise for first time in 18 months in December

Prices of imports rose in December, compared with the same period a year earlier, by 1.5 percent, according to figures released Thursday by the Czech Statistical Office. That’s the first rise in import prices for the last 18 months. It was mainly due to higher oil and food prices. Export prices were down by 0.5 percent. For the whole of 2016, export prices fell 3.1 percent and import prices by 4.0 percent compared with 2015.