Canada’s Inflation Rate Eases To 6.3%

Inflation eased last month in Canada to a year-on-year rate of 6.3 percent due mainly to slower growth in gasoline prices, the government reported Tuesday.

And for the first time in months, food prices rose at a slower pace — at a rate 11 percent compared to 11.4 percent in November.

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On a monthly basis, the consumer price index fell 0.6 percent in December following a 0.1 percent gain in November, Statistics Canada reported.

Motorists paid 13.1 percent less for gasoline in December compared to November. It was the largest monthly drop since April 2020.

“This reflected lower prices for crude oil amid concerns of a slowing global economy, as well as reduced demand following an increase in Covid-19 cases in China,” the agency said.

Excluding food and energy, prices rose 5.3 percent on a yearly basis in December, after a rise of 5.4 percent in November.

Still, overall inflation as of the end of 2022 was three times the level of 2 percent which the Bank of Canada set as its goal.

Last month the central bank carried out its seventh straight interest rate hike, taking its benchmark rate to 4.25 percent, its highest level in 15 years.

AFP