B.C.’s annual inflation rate eased to 2.5% in September, according to Statistics Canada.
Data released Friday (October 19) reveals the annual pace for inflation decreased 0.5 percentage points between August and September.
The national inflation rate, meanwhile, slowed to 2.2% year over year compared with 2.8% the month before.
The 2.2% figure registered “well below” the consensus forecast of 2.7%, according to TD senior economists James Marple.
“Inflation has been volatile over the past few months, but the signal beneath the noise is an underlying rate close to the Bank of Canada's 2.0% target,” he said in a note to investors.
“The relative stability of the Bank of Canada's core measures is consistent with an economy operating close to potential, but not ringing any alarm bells in terms of overheating.”
Marple pointed out most of the slowdown in inflation was a result of a cooling in transportation, air transportation and gas prices.
Growth in transportation prices eased to 3.9% annually in September compared with 7.2% in August.
Growth in gas prices eased to 12% annually compared with 20% a month earlier, and air transportation slowed to 7.4% from 26.4%.
“Together, these two items [gas and air transportation] took 0.5 percentage points from the headline reading,” Marple said.
