OTTAWA, April 29 (Reuters) - Canadian producer prices
declined for the second month in a row in March as a stronger
Canadian dollar helped lower prices of motorized and
recreational vehicles, data from Statistics Canada showed on
Friday.
Prices fell 0.6 percent, short of analysts' expectations for
a gain of 0.1 percent. February's decline was revised to 1.0
percent from an initially reported decline of 1.1 percent.
The 2.9 percent price decline in the vehicles sector was
partly driven by a 3.0 percent drop in prices for passenger cars
and light trucks. The decrease was closely linked to the
appreciation of the Canadian dollar compared to the greenback,
the statistics agency said, as it makes imports less expensive.
The sector's drop was offset by a 5.2 percent jump in energy
and petroleum product prices as the cost of gasoline surged 10.9
percent, its biggest gain in over a year.
Higher prices for crude energy products lifted the raw
materials index 4.5 percent. Excluding crude energy products,
raw materials prices were down 0.3 percent.
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Graphic - Canada producer prices http://link.reuters.com/cuj92t
Graphic - Canada economic dashboard http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/15/sc-canada/index.html
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