OTTAWA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Canada's Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) rose 3.1 percent month over month in May, a sixth consecutive monthly increase, according to Statistics Canada on Tuesday.

Year over year, the index jumped 16.9 percent, the biggest increase since January 1975.

Softwood lumber, which surged 27.6 percent, was by far the largest contributor to the gain in the IPPI, as it posted its highest monthly increase on record.

Prices for softwood lumber were 235.5 percent higher than in May 2020. The unprecedented rise in prices has been driven by demand from construction and exacerbated by tight supplies and inventory.

Prices for meat products rose 10.4 percent, increasing for the fifth consecutive month, mostly because of higher prices for fresh and frozen poultry of all types, fresh and frozen beef and veal, and fresh and frozen pork.

Prices for energy and petroleum products added 4.7 percent, driven mainly by growth in prices for refined petroleum energy products, including liquid biofuels. These increases are influenced both by higher prices of crude oil as input and by higher margins as the refined products exit the refinery.

In general, prices for metals were on the rise in May. Prices for the primary non-ferrous metals commodity group climbed 3.4 percent due to price increases for unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys, as well as unwrought copper and copper alloys.

Prices for the primary ferrous metals group showed upward movement for the ninth consecutive month, increasing 2.3 percent, mostly because of higher prices for basic and semi-finished iron and steel products which rose 2.4 percent.

Prices for chemicals and chemical products rose 2.7 percent, a sixth consecutive monthly gain due to higher prices for petrochemicals and plastic resins. Enditem

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