OTTAWA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Canada's Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) rose 1.4 percent in December 2020 after two months of decline, according to Statistics Canada on Wednesday.
Excluding energy and petroleum products, the IPPI was up 0.9 percent in the month.
The IPPI increase in December was mainly due to higher prices for lumber and other wood products which jumped 10.8 percent, particularly softwood lumber that soared 21.7 percent.
The prices for energy and petroleum products increased 7.9 percent in December, also contributed significantly to the increase in the IPPI, particularly refined petroleum energy products such as diesel and biodiesel fuels and motor gasoline.
The prices for primary non-ferrous metal products rose 3.1 percent also supported the IPPI's growth, mainly because of higher prices for unwrought aluminum and aluminum alloys and unwrought copper and copper alloys.
However, the prices for meat, fish and dairy products fell 3.4 percent in December, led mainly by decreased prices for fresh and frozen beef and veal, as well as for fresh and frozen pork.
Year over year, the IPPI rose 1.5 percent. Excluding energy and petroleum products, the IPPI increased 4.4 percent year over year. Enditem
