Scotiabank’s Commodity Price Index, which measures price trends in Canada’s major exports, surged by 3% in the month of December.

The Oil and Gas Index soared by 7.2% with widespread gains in light and heavy crude oil as well as natural gas and propane. The oil workers’ strike in Venezuela has tightened North American supplies of conventional heavy crude oil, boosting the price of medium/heavy crude in Western Canada relative to the lighter Edmonton “par” price.

Lumber prices also edged up in December, pushing up the Forest Products Index. The Metal and Mineral Index advanced — led by gold and sulphur prices — and stronger livestock prices contributed to firmer overall agricultural prices.

The All Items Index is now 19.1% above the recession-weakened level of a year earlier.

“The recovery in Scotiabank’s Commodity Price Index from the October 2001 cyclical bottom (19.4%) has been stronger than anticipated, and well above the improvement over the same period following the last U.S. recession in 1990-91,” said Patricia Mohr, vice president and commodities specialist, Scotia Economics. “Geopolitical tensions, production restraint by the OPEC-Ten and declining North American natural gas ‘deliverability’ have combined to push up the Oil and Gas Index 66% over the past year. Non-energy commodity prices have advanced by a more modest 6.9% over the same period.”