Canada: Industrial Product Prices Slows

The price indexes for Canadian manufactured goods and raw materials registered lower monthly growth in July than in the previous four months, primarily due to a slowdown in rising petroleum prices, Manufacturing.Net reports.

From June to July, prices charged by Canada’s manufacturers, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index, rose 0.4%, down from the average monthly growth rate of 1.5% from March to June.  The increase was almost entirely attributable to a 2.4% rise in the prices for petroleum and coal products.

The industrial index was 6.8% higher than a year earlier, its fourth straight month of growth as prices for petroleum and coal products were a whopping 52.1% higher than in July 2007.  The Raw Materials Price Index increased 1.4% in July, down from 4.3% in June, largely due to a 2.2% increase in prices for mineral fuels.

Raw materials cost plants 28.9% more than in July 2007, largely attributable to higher prices for mineral fuels and vegetable products, while nonferrous metals slowed the advance.