Apr 23, 2024 (MENAFN via COMTEX) --
(MENAFN) In March, Canada's Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) increased by 0.8 percent compared to the prior month, as revealed by recent data. This index, reflecting the price shifts of domestically made products sold by manufacturers, aligned with predictions.
Additionally, the February figure was adjusted upwards to show a 1.1 percent rise, surpassing the initially reported 0.7 percent increase.
"After four consecutive months of declines, prices for meat, fish and dairy products increased 3.1 percent in March," Statistics Canada stated in a release.
However, on an annual basis, the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) for March was 0.5 percent lower compared to the same month last year. The yearly IPPI figure for February was revised to show a decline of 1.4 percent, improving from the previously reported decrease of 1.7 percent.
In March, the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI), which tracks the prices of materials purchased by Canadian manufacturers, surged by 4.7 percent on a monthly basis. This marks the most significant monthly increase since March 2022, far surpassing market expectations of a 2.9 percent gain after a 2.1 percent rise in February.
The prices of crude energy products notably increased by 8.1 percent in March, driving the overall RMPI increase, as reported by Statistics Canada.
On an annual basis, the RMPI rose by 0.8 percent in March, marking its first year-on-year increase since September 2023, according to the agency's observations. In February, the RMPI had shown an annual decline of 4.7 percent.
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