Manufacturers costs for raw materials increased in February as the price of crude oil rose, Statistics Canada said today.

Raw material prices rose by 3.1% in February from January and were up 11.8% from February 2004.

Prices for manufactured goods at the plant gate also rose in February for the third month in a row.

On a monthly basis, StatsCan’s industrial product price index was up by 1.1%. The 12-month change in the index was 2.3% in February, down from 3.3% in January.

Prices that manufacturers paid for intermediate goods, those generally bought to make other products, were up 1.2% from December and by 4.4% from February 2004.

Prices for finished goods rose by 0.7% from January but were down 0.4% compared with February last year.