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August 12, 2005 8:05 AM, EDT

The price of goods imported into the United States rose by 1.1% in July, the Labor Department said Friday, pushed mostly by record high oil costs.

It was the second straight month the cost of imports rose.

Excluding oil, import costs fell 0.1% during the month, the third such decline.

Import prices were 7.7% higher in July than they were a year earlier, compared to a 7% year-over-year increase in June. Excluding petroleum, overall import prices are 2.2% higher than they were in 2004.

Bloomberg News said that the import price report is the first of three major price monitors issued by the federal government each month and will be followed by producer and consumer price reports later this month.