Oil pushed import prices down in July

Prices for imported goods fell faster than prices for U.S. exports in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.

The U.S. Import Price Index dropped 0.7 percent in the month, largely due to a 2.8 percent drop in petroleum prices. Non-petroleum import prices fell 0.2 percent in July, the bureau said.

Export prices dropped 0.3 percent, largely due to a decline in agricultural export prices, which fell 4.9 percent during the month. Non-agricultural export prices dropped 0.2 percent.

While indicators of inflation and currency trends, the import/export price figures are generally ignored on stock markets. Investors looked at U.S. trade deficit figures Wednesday, which showed the trade gap widened in June to $27 billion.