Alberta Wildfires push Canada May Producer Prices

Canadian producer prices in May increased by their most in over a year, due in part to Alberta wildfires pushing up the cost of energy and petroleum products, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.

The 1.1 percent advance - the first in four months - was greater than the 0.4 percent growth forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll. It marked the biggest month-on-month climb since the 1.9 percent recorded in February 2015.

Prices for primary non-ferrous metal products rose by 1.6 percent. Of the 21 major commodity groups, 16 rose, two fell and three were unchanged.

Prices for energy and petroleum products jumped by 6.3 percent as the Alberta wildfires cut output in the oil sands. Supply disruptions in Nigeria also contributed to higher prices, Statscan said.

Higher prices for crude energy products helped lift the raw materials index by 6.7 percent from April. Analysts had predicted a 5.0 percent month-on-month advance.

Reporting by David Ljunggren