U.S. import prices rebounded last month on the back of higher energy prices, following a brief dip in July.

Import prices climbed 2% in August from the month before, the Labor Department said Friday. That followed an unrevised 0.7% decline in July, the first drop of the year. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected a 1.2% gain. Still, import prices remained down 15% compared with August 2008, following a 19.2% annual decline the month before that was the biggest drop since the index was first published in 1982.

Petroleum import prices jumped 10.5% in August from July -- the sixth gain in seven months -- but were down 38.1% on the year.

Excluding petroleum, import prices were 0.4% higher from July, though remained down 6.5% from August 2008.