More signs appeared this morning that inflation is being well-contained in Canada.
Figures released by Statistics Canada revealed that the unadjusted all-items Canadian CPI index rose 0.2% in March, bringing the annual inflation rate down to 1.0% from 1.2% in February. On a seasonally adjusted basis, consumer prices rose 0.1%. The Bank of Canada's core measure posted an expected 0.2% gain in March on an unadjusted basis with the seasonally-adjusted index also up 0.2%. Relative to a year earlier, the Bank's core rate held at 1.4%.
In the month of March, prices for clothing and footwear, appliances and travel tours posted gains. These increases were accompanied by a very small 0.2% rise in gasoline prices compared to the 8.4% surge reported in February. Declines were registered for the prices of passenger vehicles, traveler accommodation and fresh fruit and vegetables.
Relative to a year earlier, gasoline prices were 0.3% lower with mortgage interest costs and air transportation costs down 4.0% and 3.7% respectively. Clothing prices, despite recording a 4.0% gain in February and a 4.3% jump in March, stood just 0.5% higher than the same period in 2012 as the gains in February and March followed three months of decline. Food prices, edged down by 0.4% in March tempering the pace of increase to 1.8% in the year over year rate from 1.9%.
The core measure, which excludes the prices of the eight most volatile components of the CPI, also posted a 0.2% increase due to rising clothing/footwear and travel services prices. A reprieve in the prices of passenger autos, which fell 1.5% in the month, limited the annual increases to 0.8% from 2.4% in February.
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