High dollar continues to push back prices: Statistics Canada

Canadian manufacturers saw their prices drop for the 10th consecutive month in January, bringing them down 3.6 per cent when compared to January 2004, Statistics Canada reports.

Blame the strong loonie.

Without the influence of the dollar, the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) would have risen 0.8 per cent from a year ago, Statistics Canada reports. The IPPI reflects the prices that Canadian producers receive when goods leave the plant gate.

Raw material prices were up 2.4 per cent over December, although manufacturers paid 7.4 per cent less for raw materials than they did in January 2003.

Intermediate (input) producers received 2.2 per cent less for their goods in January 2004 than they did in January 2003.

Compared to December, the January price of rubber, leather and plastic fabricated products was down 0.1 per cent. Prices for petroleum and coal products were up 5.4 per cent. Chemical products, meanwhile, were up 1.6 per cent.