Canadian producer prices edged up by 0.1% in December on higher prices for non-ferrous metal products, Statistics Canada data showed on Friday.
Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast no change in December following a downwardly revised contraction of 0.1% in November. Of the 21 major commodity groups tracked by the national agency, 12 fell, seven rose and two were unchanged.
Prices for non-ferrous metal products rose 1.2%, thanks in large part to higher prices for unwrought silver and silver alloys, which jumped 11.7% - the strongest monthly increase since July 2016.
Meanwhile, the raw material price index jumped 2.8% in December following November's revised 1.4% gain, largely on higher prices for crude energy products, which rose 5.4%.