×

Canada Inflation Soars To Four-Decade High

  Canada’s rate of inflation continued to soar in June, hitting a four-decade high of 8.1 percent as sky-scraping gasoline led a broad increase in … Continue reading Canada Inflation Soars To Four-Decade High


(FILES) In this file photo taken on April 11, 2020 the Jacques-Cartier bridge in Montreal is seen on April 11, 2020, from the tourist district of the Old Port, illuminated in the colours of the rainbow as a sign of hope and in support of victims of the coronavirus. – Fully vaccinated US citizens and permanent residents of the United States will be allowed to cross the border into Canada for non-essential travel from August 9 without any quarantine requirements, the government in Ottawa said on July 19, 2021. The US-Canadian land border, the world’s longest, as been closed to non-essential travel since mid-March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Eric THOMAS / AFP)
(FILES) In this file photo taken on April 11, 2020 the Jacques-Cartier bridge in Montreal is seen on April 11, 2020.  (Photo by Eric THOMAS / AFP)

 

Canada’s rate of inflation continued to soar in June, hitting a four-decade high of 8.1 percent as sky-scraping gasoline led a broad increase in prices, the government statistical agency said Wednesday.

Analysts had been expecting worse, after a 7.7 percent jump in prices the previous month, while the data suggested inflation — at its highest level since January 1983 — may have peaked.

“Inflation continues to heat up, but not to temperatures analysts had expected,” Desjardins analyst Royce Mendes said in a research note.

This slightly weaker-than-anticipated reading “will come as good news for central bankers trying to control price pressures,” he added.

According to Statistics Canada, the cost to fill up cars and trucks went up 54.6 percent in the 12 months to June.

But in recent weeks, record gasoline prices have come down as crude oil tumbled.

The cost of purchasing a passenger vehicle in the month also rose, with demand outpacing supply as a result of the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage.

The lifting of most pandemic restrictions has also fueled an increase in tourism, with the return of sporting events, festivals and other large in-person gatherings leading to higher demand — and costs — for airfare, hotel rooms and restaurant meals.

Meanwhile, the costs of childcare, computer equipment and mortgage interest fell.

A red-hot housing market also cooled slightly, leading to lower real estate commissions.

AFP