Industrial product and raw materials price indexes, December 2025

Released: 2026-01-21

Prices of products manufactured in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), decreased 0.6% month over month in December and gained 4.9% year over year. Prices of raw materials purchased by manufacturers operating in Canada, as measured by the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI), increased by 0.5% month over month in December and rose 6.4% year over year. While corresponding commodity groups between the RMPI and the IPPI moved in the same direction on a month-over-month basis, differences in the relative weights of those groups caused the headline movements of the two indexes to diverge.

Chart 1 
Prices for industrial products decrease in December

Industrial Product Price Index

The IPPI decreased 0.6% month over month in December, following a 1.1% gain in November. Most commodity groups registered month-over-month decreases in December, though prices significantly increased for primary non-ferrous metal products. Excluding energy and petroleum products, the IPPI increased 0.2% in December.

The prices of energy and petroleum products (-7.2%) led the IPPI's monthly decrease in December. Lower prices for refined petroleum energy products (-8.2%) were mainly behind the decrease. Finished motor gasoline fell 9.6%, while diesel fuel declined 7.5% on a monthly basis. The price decrease for refined petroleum products was due to declines for both crude oil prices and refiner margins, as an ongoing global oil supply surplus put downward pressure on petroleum energy product prices. Data from the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated that, on a global basis, world petroleum and other liquid fuels production had surpassed consumption for the 15th consecutive month in December, and the gap between production and consumption had been notably wider from August to November 2025. The EIA forecasted that the trend would continue throughout 2026. The possibility of Russia–Ukraine peace talks, which could lead to lifted sanctions and increased Russian energy exports if successful, also contributed to lower energy prices in December.

The prices of lumber and other wood products declined 3.0% in December, the largest month-over-month decline for the commodity group since May 2025 (-6.0%). The December decrease was driven by declining prices for softwood lumber (-6.7%). In December, softwood lumber prices were affected by a seasonal slowdown in demand heading into winter.

Prices for primary non-ferrous metal products substantially moderated the IPPI's monthly decline, posting their eighth straight monthly gain in December (+7.1%). The increase was primarily associated with higher prices for unwrought silver and silver alloys (+25.4%), unwrought platinum group metals, and their alloys (+15.0%), and unwrought gold and gold alloys (+3.4%). Prices also increased notably for unwrought copper and copper alloys (+7.0%). Recent interest rate cuts by the United States Federal Reserve and global geopolitical uncertainty were among the factors influencing the precious metal price gains in December, as these factors spurred safe-haven demand. Tight global supplies in silver, platinum group metals, and copper markets influenced prices for these metals. Furthermore, planned silver export restrictions announced by China were scheduled to take effect in January 2026, which could have a negative effect on global silver supply in 2026.

Year over year

The IPPI gained 4.9% year over year in December 2025, the index's 15th straight year-over-year increase.

In December, 13 of 21 commodity groups posted year-over-year increases. The year-over-year increase in the IPPI was driven by price movements in unwrought silver and silver alloys (+106.6%), unwrought gold and gold alloys (+57.8%) and unwrought platinum group metals, and their alloys (+82.4%). Other product groups that were key upward contributors included fresh and frozen poultry of all types (+38.5%) and fresh and frozen beef and veal (+19.7%).

Raw Materials Price Index

The RMPI increased 0.5% month over month in December. Higher prices for metal ores, concentrates and scrap were largely offset by declines in crude energy products and crop products. Excluding crude energy products, the RMPI increased 2.4%.

Prices for metal ores, concentrates and scrap rose 6.2% month over month in December, their eighth consecutive increase. The increase was primarily attributable to the continued trend of higher prices for silver ores, concentrates and mill bullion (+25.0%) and gold ores, concentrates and mill bullion (+3.7%). Copper ores and concentrates (+7.3%) contributed to the increase in metal prices as well, albeit to a lesser extent. Copper prices benefitted from demand in the technology sector in the face of tight supply, following a series of supply disruptions across the globe in 2025.

Prices for crude energy products fell 4.1% in December. Prices fell for both conventional crude oil (-4.7%) and synthetic crude oil (-2.5%). The decreases were mainly due to the existing global oversupply of oil. Weak global oil demand, particularly from China, also played a role in lower prices. China's latest official data showed slow factory and retail growth, signalling potential downward pressure for near-term crude oil consumption. Over the longer term, the country's ongoing structural shift toward electrification is expected to limit crude oil demand growth.

Prices for crop products fell 4.8% in December, following a 2.1% increase in the previous month. This was the largest monthly downturn for this commodity group since August 2024 (-5.6%) and it was mainly driven by price movements from other miscellaneous crop products (-9.6%) and canola (-4.3%) in December 2025. Green coffee beans, a subcategory of other miscellaneous crop products, experienced a decline in December, partly due to an improved global supply outlook that was supported by favourable weather conditions in major coffee-exporting countries such as Vietnam and Brazil. The downward movement in canola was partially caused by China's continued restrictions on canola seed imports, which have reduced the export demand outlook for Canada's canola market.

Year over year

The RMPI rose 6.4% on a yearly basis in December. Excluding crude energy products, the RMPI posted a 21.3% year-over-year rise in December.

The RMPI's year-over-year increase in December was led by higher prices for gold, silver, and platinum group metal ores and concentrates (+74.4%). Cattle and calves (+13.2%) also made a significant contribution to the yearly increase of the index.

In December, prices notably declined on a year-over-year basis for conventional crude oil (-19.7%) and synthetic crude oil (-17.9%), largely moderating the RMPI's year-over-year increase. Increased global supply in 2025 put downward pressure on crude oil prices.

Chart 2 
Prices for raw materials increase in December

Contact information

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