Raw material price index -2.4% versus -5.3% expected
- Prices of products sold by Canadian manufacturers as measured by the industrial product price index rose by 0.2% in October. The prior month was revised to +0.2% from +0.1%. The numbers was mostly driven by higher prices for meat, fish, and dairy products.
- The prices of raw materials fell by -2.4%. This was better than the -5.3% decline expected. the prior month was revised to -1.0% from -0.9%. The decline as mainly as a result of lower prices for crude energy products.
- For the IPPI, 10 categories were up, 6 were down and 5 were unchanged. The IPPI excluding energy and petroleum products also rose 0.2%.
- Year over year, the IPPI rose 5.3% in October, following a 6.3% increase in September. Of the 21 major commodity groups, only primary non-ferrous metal products were down compared with October 2017.
- The RMPI (-2.4%) was down for a third consecutive month in October, after falling 1.0% in September. Of the six major commodity groups, three were down and three were up
- The decrease in the RMPI in October was mostly due to lower prices for crude energy products (-7.0%), particularly conventional crude oil (-7.3%), which posted its largest decrease since June 2017 (-9.6%). The RMPI excluding crude energy products rose 2.1%.
- Compared with the same month a year earlier, the RMPI rose 7.7% in October, following a 14.5% increase in September. The gain in the RMPI was widespread, with only metal ores, concentrates and scrap down compared with October 2017.
