Prices for manufactured products and raw materials in November were pushed up by surging petroleum prices in November, Statistics Canada reported today.

From October to November, prices charged by manufacturers, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index, rose 0.6%, a marginal increase after six straight monthly declines, StatsCan said.

On a 12-month basis, the index declined 0.6%, continuing a downward trend.

The Raw Materials Price Index jumped 3.4% from October to November, boosted solely by the rise in crude oil prices.

Raw materials cost plants 15.7% more than in November 2006.

Among manufactured goods, declines in motor vehicles and other transport equipment prices, along with primary metal products and pulp-and-paper products were tempered by the steep increase in the prices for petroleum and coal products.

The exchange rate, reflecting the continuing effect of a strong Canadian dollar in relation to its U.S. counterpart, had less of an impact on price declines than it had in the previous month.

If the exchange rate used to convert these prices had remained unchanged from the previous month, the index would have risen 0.9% instead of 0.6%.