U.S. import prices experienced their biggest fall in more than five years in March amid declines in the cost of petroleum products and a range of other goods.

The Labor Department said on Tuesday that import prices had dropped 2.3% last month, representing the biggest drop since January 2015, after a downwardly revised 0.7% drop in February.

The department said import and export price quotes are requested for transactions occurring as close to the first day of the month as possible. It noted that while not directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, response rates for March were approximately 6.5 percentage points lower than March 2019.

The report came following data released last week showing the biggest decline in the consumer price index in more than five years in March, amid a fall in the gasoline cost and record drops in hotel accommodation, apparel and airline ticket prices. Producer prices also fell in March.

The weak inflation readings reflected subdued demand as state and local governments adopted stiff measures to control the spread of COVID-19, virtually grounding the country and sending the economy into a tailspin and millions out of work.

At the same time, the prospects of a deep global recession and an oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, which has since been resolved, have sent crude prices tumbling. Cheaper gasoline and weak demand are expected to offset price increases caused by bottlenecks in the supply chain.

The report also showed export prices dropped 1.6% in March, the largest decline since January 2015, depressed by decreases in prices for agricultural and nonagricultural products. That followed a 1.1% drop in February. Export prices fell 3.6% on a year-on-year basis in March, the largest decrease since May 2016. Export prices dropped 1.3% year-on-year in February.