The metal and mineral sub-index rose but the overall commodity price index of Scotiabank dropped in April. The all-items index was off by 1.5% after six consecutive monthly increases.
Higher prices in April for zinc, lead and aluminum helped the metal and mining sub-index record a small gain. “Base metal prices have been boosted by a number of unusual developments which have masked weakening industrial activity in Japan and Germany and a slow recovery in the U.S.,” writes economist Patricia Mohr.
Mild winter weather supported construction activity in Europe and the U.S. this year, metal shipments from the Commonwealth of Independent States (the former Soviet Union) were delayed by bureaucracy and China increased its copper purchases.
In Germany, zinc and copper were pre-ordered because of possible labor disruptions. And in Western Canada, coal producers agreed to drop the price of metallurgical coal during their annual contract negotiations with the Japanese.
The all-commodity index tracks export prices of a variety of Canadian commodities, which are weighted according to their 1984 export values, except crude oil where the value of net exports is used.
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