Figures released Friday morning by Statistics Canada showed Canada's annual inflation rate continued creeping higher last month to hit 2.3%.
The March figure shows the pace of inflation inched a little farther past the midpoint of the central bank's ideal range of between 1% and 3%
By comparison, inflation was 2.2% in February and 1.7% in January.
The annual pace of inflation was the highest since the rate hit 2.4% in October 2014, just as the oil-price slump was getting underway.
The upward forces on inflation last month were led by higher costs for gasoline and air transportation, while cheaper prices for video equipment, digital devices and electricity applied downward pressure.
Friday morning's report also says the average of the Bank of Canada's three measures of core inflation, which are designed to leave out the noise of more-volatile items, was 2% last month.
Earlier this week, the central bank said that due to the temporary effects of higher gas prices and minimum wage increases it has raised its inflation projections. The bank is now expecting the measure to average 2.3% in 2018 before settling back down to 2.1% in 2019.
