Consumer prices in British Columbia rose 1.1% year-over-year to October, giving the province the lowest rate of growth in the country, according to Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index data released November 21.
Across the country, prices grew 2.4%, which beat analysts’ expectations of 2.1%. This increase came in spite of a 4.0% decrease in the price of gasoline. The biggest increase was seen in the price of tobacco and alcohol, up 5.8%.
“This morning’s report confirmed that Canada’s headline inflation rate was at or above the Bank [of Canada]’s 2% target for seven consecutive months and the core rate for the past three,” said Dawn Desjardins, assistant chief economist for RBC Economics.
“Looking forward, the sharp decline in energy costs will likely push the headline rate below 2%; however, excluding energy, inflation pressures are likely to continue to run at or above 2.0%.”
Alberta saw the country’s biggest jump, with consumer prices growing 3.0%. The province saw a massive increase of 30.7% in the price of natural gas.
The Canadian dollar rose slightly on Statistics Canada’s announcement from $0.888 U.S. to $0.889 as of press time.
@EmmaHampelBIV
