Pigs are seen at the Meloporc farm in Saint-Thomas de Joliette, Que., on June 26, 2019.SEBASTIEN ST-JEAN/AFP/Getty Images
Canadian producer prices dropped by 0.1 per cent in September, almost entirely due to lower prices for meat, fish and dairy products, Statistics Canada data showed on Thursday.
Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast an increase of 0.2 per cent in September following a gain of 0.2 per cent in August. Of the 21 major commodity groups tracked by Statistics Canada, seven fell, 11 rose, and three were unchanged.
Prices for meat, fish and dairy dropped 3.4 per cent, largely because of slumping prices for fresh and frozen pork, which fell by 12.0 per cent on the month – the largest monthly decline reported since September 2000.
Raw materials prices were unchanged in September after falling 1.8 per cent in August. Higher prices for crude energy products were largely moderated by lower prices for animals and animal products, which fell 6.2 per cent.
Hog prices saw the biggest declines within the category, slumping 23.5 per cent, the largest drop reported since August 2018, Statscan said.
Meanwhile, crude energy prices rose 2.7 per cent in September, after falling 4.3 per cent the previous month, driven mainly by higher prices for conventional crude oil, which saw a gain of 2.8 per cent following attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities.
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