Although April’s raw materials prices were down 0.2% from March, manufacturers paid 8.4% more for their raw materials compared with one year ago, Statistics Canada reported today. That’s the largest 12-month increase since March 2003.

Mineral fuels were up 12.1% from a year ago, with crude oil prices rising 17.5%.

If mineral fuels had been excluded, the raw materials price index would have increased 5.5%.

Prices for non-ferrous metals rose 38.5% from a year ago, mainly because of higher prices for copper, lead, zinc and nickel. Ferrous materials prices rose 27%, compared with April 2003, with iron and steel scrap prices rising 45.1%.

Prices for animals and animal products were down 7.1%, with cattle and calves for slaughter prices declining 24.6% from a year ago. Lower prices were also observed for wood products, down 2.1%.

Manufacturers’ selling prices , meanwhile, were up 0.8% in April after an increase of 0.6% in March. And compared with April 2003, industrial product prices rose 1.5%, the first gain in 12 months.

From a monthly perspective, prices for motor vehicles and other transport equipment increased 0.8%, mainly as a result of the effect of the currency exchange rate.

Prices for primary metal products rose 1.7% because of increases for aluminum, nickel, iron and steel products. Lumber and other wood products increased by 2.3% as increased demand resulted in higher prices for softwood lumber, up 3.9%, and particleboard, up two%.

Higher prices for pulp and paper products, meat, fish and dairy products, metal fabricated products, petroleum and coal products, chemical products, and fruit, vegetable and feed products also contributed to the monthly increase.

In a separate release, StatsCan said a higher trade surplus boosted Canada’s current account surplus with the rest of the world to its highest level in three years during the first quarter.

The statistical agency said the surplus rose $2.8 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis to $9.5 billion.

The surplus on trade in goods reached $17.5 billion, up $3.4 billion from the fourth quarter. Exports increased by $4 billion to $101.5 billion after three quarters of decline, led by energy products.

Imports increased by $500 million to $84 billion.

The current account is the difference between a country’s total exports of goods, services and transfers, and its total imports of them. It covers transactions on goods, services, investment income and current transfers.

The agency said the deficit on investment income increased $500 million to $5 billion as profits earned on Canadian direct investment abroad dropped $700 million. Despite this, Canada registered its second lowest deficit on investment income in more than 12 years.

In the first quarter, the deficit on trade in services declined by $100 million to $3 billion.

Statistics Canada also said foreign direct investment returned to Canada after two negative quarters as the foreign acquisition of a Canadian corporation helped raise foreign direct investment to $5.3 billion in the quarter.

Over two-thirds of first-quarter direct investment came from the United States.