U.S. import prices increased more than expected in April amid rising costs for petroleum products and a range of other goods, which could help boost domestic inflation and keep the Federal Reserve on course for further interest rate hikes. The Labor Department said on Wednesday that import prices jumped 0.5 percent last month after gaining 0.1 percent in March. It was the fifth straight monthly increase and beat economists' expectations for a 0.2 percent advance. "Higher import prices today helps build the case for another rate hike at the June Fed meeting as the deflation threat has long passed for this economic cycle," chief economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York. 

In the 12 months through April, import prices rose 4.1 percent after increasing 4.3 percent in March. Prices shot up 4.7 percent on a year-on-year basis in February, the biggest gain in five years. They are rising as the drags from a strong dollar and weak global import prices fade.

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