Canadian producer prices up in January

OTTAWA, Feb.28 (Xinhua) -- Canadian producer prices rose in January due to higher prices for energy and petroleum products, according to Statistics Canada Wednesday.

Prices for energy and petroleum products rose 3.4 percent because of more expensive motor gasoline, diesel fuel and light fuel oils. Excluding the energy and petroleum category, producer prices were down 0.1 percent.

The overall increase was also tempered by a 0.9-percent decline in the vehicles sector, due to lower prices for vehicle engines and parts, as well as aircraft and parts.

The appreciation of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar in January also had an impact on the figures as some producer prices are reported in U.S. dollars. If the exchange rate had held constant, overall producer prices would have been up one percent.

The raw materials price index jumped 3.3 percent thanks to higher prices for crude energy products, particularly conventional crude oil. Enditem