Statistics
Canada reported on Wednesday that the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) increased
0.2 per cent m-o-m in December
2024, following an unrevised 0.6 per
cent m-o-m climb in the previous month. This was the third consecutive monthly gain in IPPI, which,
however, was the weakest in the sequence.
Economists had expected
the IPPI to jump 0.6 per cent m-o-m in December.
According to
the report, the December increase in the headline indicator was due to gains in
13 out of 21 product
categories, led by textile and leather products (+2.1 per cent m-o-m), lumber
and other wood products (+1.3 per cent m-o-m), and miscellaneous products (+1.2
per cent m-o-m). Meanwhile, the energy and petroleum products (-0.9 per cent
m-o-m), pulp and paper products (-0.7 per cent m-o-m), and chemicals and
chemical products (-0.6 per cent m-o-m) categories demonstrated the steepest declines.
In y-o-y terms,
the IPPI surged 4.1 per cent in December, following an unrevised 2.2 per cent rise in November. This marked the strongest annual advance since January 2023 (+4.8 per
cent).
The report also
showed that the prices of raw materials purchased by manufacturers operating in
Canada, as measured by the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI), went up 1.3 per
cent m-o-m in December after an upwardly revised 0.1 per cent m-o-m drop (from
-0.5 per cent) in the previous month. Economists had foreseen a 0.4 per cent
m-o-m increase.
The December advance in RMPI reflected gains in costs of crop products (+2.2 per cent
m-o-m), metal ores, concentrates and scrap (+2.0 per cent m-o-m), animals and
animal products (+1.2 per cent m-o-m), crude energy products (+0.8 per cent
m-o-m), and logs, pulpwood, natural rubber and other forestry products (+0.8
per cent m-o-m), which were somewhat offset by a drop in prices non-metallic
minerals (-1.6 per cent m-o-m).
On a y-o-y
basis, the RMPI soared 9.1 per cent, following an upwardly revised 2.4 per cent
gain (from +2.0 per cent) in November. This was the strongest annual increase since September 2022 (+12.6 per cent).