ZCZC
BCN-19
CANADA-INFLATION-CONSUMER-INDICATOR
Canada inflation slows in January to 1.4%
OTTAWA, Feb 28, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Canadians paid 1.4 percent more for goods
and services in January than a year earlier, kicking off the year with a
slowdown in inflation, government data showed Wednesday.
The figure was slightly less than economists had forecast, following a 2.0
percent average price hike in December to close out 2018.
The drop in inflation was led by a 14.2 percent year-over-year decline in
gasoline prices amid what Statistics Canada called “an oversupply in the
United States.”
Prices for fuel oil and natural gas also fell in the month, the government
statistical agency said, along with digital computing services, hotel
accommodations and prescription drugs excluding medical marijuana.
The costs of mortgage interest, restaurant meals, insurance premiums for
passenger cars and trucks, fresh vegetables and rent, meanwhile, fell in
January.
“The only surprise in (the) Canadian CPI in January was that there was no
surprise,” CIBC Economics analyst Avery Shenfeld commented in a research
note.
BSS/AFP/HR/1010