Canada annual inflation edges up to 1.9% in January

In January, the annual inflation rate had gone up again to 1.9% in Canada, according to StatsCan. The main reasons for this were higher gasoline prices and natural gas prices, while car prices were also up, even as prices had fallen due to the sales tax holiday.
Also, the core inflation had gone up, with January reading at a 6 month high. Consumer prices would have risen to 2.7% without the benefit of the tax relief.

 

Helping to ease inflationary pressures was the sales tax holiday on a range of products such as food, beverages, restaurant meals and children’s clothing that is in place from mid-December to mid-February. When this measure is gone in mid-February, the prices for these products are expected to rise again, probably pushing the inflation again above the 2% mark, and Canadians again feeling this increase in prices at the grocery stores.

 

Prices for food declined 0.6% on a year-over-year basis in January, which marks the first yearly decrease since May 2017, thanks in part to a record 5.1% decline in prices for food purchased from restaurants.

 

Prices for gas and fuel had gone up by 8.6% in January, while natural gas prices had gone up by 4.8% for the month.