Industrial, raw material indexes fall in December

Canada'sindustrial product price index and the raw materials price index fell 0.1 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively, in December pulled down from November by lower petroleum prices.

December's petroleum and coal prices were down 1.4 per cent, dragging down industrial prices, while a 1.2 per cent rise in primary metal products tempered the decline, Statistics Canada said Friday.

The agency says a 0.5 per cent appreciation of the Canadian dollar in relation to its U.S. counterpart contributed to a price dropfor severalproducts.

Year over year, the industrial index fell 0.8 per cent in December, its 10th straight decrease.

The raw materials index was pulled down by declining prices for mineral fuels in December, particularly crude oil, which fell 4.9 per cent, while a 2.8 per cent rise in prices for non-ferrous metals tempered the decline.

But from December 2008 to December 2009, raw material prices rose 26.7 per cent due to significant price increases for mineral fuels (up 57.9 per cent) and non-ferrous metals (up 39.3). Apart from these two groups, all others registered a decline.