STAMFORD, Conn. -

Pushed by the value of the Canadian dollar falling, wholesale prices in Canada during August were up by more than 2 percent sequentially and more than 6 percent year-over-year, according to RVI Group.

Specifically, the RVI Used Car Price Index for Canada came in at 1.023, up from 1.002 in July and 0.963 in August 2010.

“Exchange rates have a very direct impact on used-car prices,” RVI’s Wayne Westring told Auto Remarketing Canada. “The Canadian dollar softened by $0.03 last month helping used-car values increase.”

He added: “The exchange rate has weighed the Canadian wholesale market down compared to the U.S. counterparts … with the Canadian dollar softening last month, it helped the market improve.”

Breaking it down by vehicle category, the only volume segment whose prices fell in August was the minivan class, which was off 4.8 percent. Midsize SUVs were static, but the remainder of the volume segments were up in price.

Explaining the decline in minivan values, Westring shared: “Minivans increased from June to July by 8.8 percent. The month-over-month decline in August is a market correction for that increase.”

Conversely, the heftiest gain was in the subcompact segment, which jumped 7.4 percent sequentially. Luxury small sedans (up 7 percent) weren’t far behind.

Though gas prices dipped in August, they were at $1.26 per liter, remaining “relatively high.”

When asked if the smaller segments leading the increases was entirely due to gas price trends or if other factors came into play, Westring noted: “The Canadian consumer favors smaller vehicles, and with gas prices staying relatively high compared to history, this contributes to smaller vehicles increasing.

“But also, in 2008 and 2009, leasing began to decline, and for some brands, leasing went away. We are now starting to see the impact of low lease volume on used-car prices,” he added.

On a year-over-year basis, the volume segment that showed the most price growth was also the subcompact class (up 24.6 percent), followed by small sedans, which climbed 16.9 percent. Just two segments decreased: small SUVs (down 3.7 percent) and midsize SUVs (down 0.4 percent).

All the other volume segments were up in value compared to August 2010.