Canada’s inflation steady at 6.9% in Oct

Ottawa: Canada’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.9 per cent year over year in October, matching the increase in September, the national statistical agency said.

Statistics Canada said on Wednesday that excluding food and energy, prices rose 5.3 per cent year over year in October, following an increase of 5.4 per cent in September, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to Statistics Canada, in October, higher prices at the gas pump put upward pressure on the all-items CPI.

Additionally, Canadians renewed or initiated mortgages at higher interest rates, which led to acceleration in the mortgage interest cost index.

Offsetting the upward pressure was slower price growth on a year-over-year basis for natural gas and groceries, particularly prices for fruit, vegetables, and meat.

Fuel prices rose 17.8 per cent in October compared with October 2021, following a 13.2 pe rcent increase in September 2022.

In October, mortgage interest costs increased on a year-over-year basis by 11.4 per cent, the highest increase since February 1991.

Prices for food rose 10.1 per cent in October, compared with September’s 10.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis.

Prices for meat rose 5.5 per cent, fruit 8.9 per cent, and vegetables 11 per cent.

Despite the slowdown in price growth, prices for food purchased from stores continued to increase at a faster rate year over year than the all-items CPI for the eleventh consecutive month, according to Statistics Canada.

Canadians paid more for dry or fresh pasta with an increase of 44.8 per cent, margarine with an increase of 40.4 per cent, lettuce, 30.2 per cent, rice and rice-based mixes, 14.7 percent, and soup, 18.4 per cent, among other food items.

On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.7 per cent in October following a 0.1 per cent gain in September.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI was up 0.6 per cent, the agency said.

In October, average hourly wages rose 5.6 per cent on a year-over-year basis, meaning that, on average, prices rose faster than wages, Statistics Canada said.

–IANS