Energy drives industrial, raw materials prices up

With the trajectory for inflation at the forefront of central bankers’ thoughts, new data from Statistics Canada show that rising energy prices drove increases in industrial and raw materials prices last month.

StatsCan reported that its industrial product price index (IPPI), which tracks prices for products manufactured in Canada, rose by 0.4% month over month in September.

The increase was led by energy and petroleum products, which saw prices rise 3.7%, driven by a 9.9% increase in crude oil prices.

On a year-over-year basis, the IPPI was up 0.6% in September, StatsCan reported.

The agency’s raw materials price index (RMPI), which tracks the prices for inputs, was up by 3.5% on a monthly basis in September.

Crude energy products led the increase in the RMPI too, as prices rose 9.4% in September, marking the third consecutive monthly increase.

“High prices for crude oil were driven by the extension of voluntary production cuts by [OPEC+] accompanied by a tight global supply and demand balance,” StatsCan said.

On a year-over-year basis, the RMPI was up by 2.4% in September.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.