- Canada’s annual inflation rate eased to 3.8 per cent nationally last month from a year earlier
- Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday that the 5.8 per cent rise in prices for items such as groceries and new vehicles slowed from 6.9 per cent in July, and consumers paid less for airfares
- The market was expecting the consumer price index to rise 4.0 per cent for the month
- For two consecutive months Canada’s inflation rate accelerated, reaching 4 per cent in August
Canada’s annual inflation rate eased to 3.8 per cent nationally last month from a year earlier.
Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday that the 5.8 per cent rise in prices for items such as groceries and new vehicles slowed from 6.9 per cent in July, and consumers paid less for airfares.
The market was expecting the consumer price index to stay at 4.0 per cent for the month.
On a monthly basis, the consumer price index fell 0.1 per cent in September, after a 0.4 per cent gain in August. The agency said that the monthly slowdown was mainly driven by lower month-over-month prices for gasoline in September, which was down 1.3 per cent.
CPA Canada’s Chief Economist, David-Alexandre Brassard called the inflation report good news, noting that September marked the first decrease of overall prices levels in 2023.
“The decrease is broad-based: inflation for services is coming down after strong summer levels, food prices are declining for the second month and inflation on consumer goods has not picked up any further after the August surge,” he said in a newsletter. “The recent business and consumer outlooks of the Bank of Canada (BOC) which note that businesses are planning to raise prices and consumer expectations are both disconnected with today’s statistics. Current inflation does not call for additional interest rate hikes, but the BOC could act to reduce expectations.”
The inflation report comes as the Bank of Canada is set to release its next interest rate announcement on Oct. 25.
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