OTTAWA (CP) — The price indexes for manufactured goods and raw materials registered lower monthly growth in July than in the previous four months, primarily due to a slowdown in rising petroleum prices.
From June to July, prices charged by manufacturers, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index, rose 0.4 percent, down from the average monthly growth rate of 1.5 from March to June.
The agency says the increase was almost entirely attributable to a 2.4 percent rise in the prices for petroleum and coal products, which was the lowest rate in five months.
The industrial index was 6.8 percent higher than a year earlier, its fourth straight month of growth as prices for petroleum and coal products were a whopping 52.1 percent higher than in July 2007.
The Raw Materials Price Index increased 1.4 percent in July, down from 4.3 in June, largely due to a 2.2 percent increase in prices for mineral fuels, their lowest advance in five months.
Raw materials cost plants 28.9 percent more than in July 2007, largely attributable to higher prices for mineral fuels and vegetable products, while non-ferrous metals slowed the advance.
