British Columbia bucked the national inflation trend in October by recording a fifth consecutive decline in the consumer price index (CPI), according to Statistics Canada data released Wednesday.
B.C.'s CPI fell 0.6% following a 1.2% decline in September. Nationally, the CPI rose 0.1% in October following a 0.9% decline in September.
B.C. was the largest province to see price declines in October, with the Yukon, Newfoundland, PEI and Nova Scotia rounding out other provinces reporting declines.
The decline was mainly due to a 2.5% fall in the cost of home utilities between October and September. Nationally, shelter costs fell 1.6% year-over-year because of a 30.3% decline in the price of natural gas and a 29.4% decline in the price of fuel oil.
The national CPI index rose in October, primarily because of higher prices for food, household operations, furnishings and equipment, recreation and education.