Inflation in Canada remained at 1.3% in August as lower energy prices continued to keep a lid on the overall cost of living, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
The rate matched economists' forecasts.
Consumers paid more for seven of the eight major components Statistics Canada tracks, led by a 3.6% jump in food prices. Meat, for example, was 6.3% more expensive than it was a year ago.
The transportation index was the lone decliner, thanks to falling gasoline prices. Pump prices were 12.6% lower in August than they were a year earlier.
Nine provinces recorded a year-over-year rise in consumer prices. The highest inflation rate was in Saskatchewan, at 1.9% the same as a month earlier.
Prince Edward Island was again the only province to see prices fall year-over-year, with its CPI down 0.1%. P.E.I. has recorded negative CPI for nine consecutive months.
However, the core rate of inflation, which excludes such volatile items as gasoline, fruits and vegetables, mortgage interest costs, and cigarettes, slipped to 2.1% in August. It had been 2.4% the month before.
