Statistics
Canada announced on Tuesday the country’s consumer price index (CPI) increased
0.5 per cent m-o-m in April,
following an unrevised 0.6 per cent m-o-m jump in the previous month. This
represented the third straight monthly advance in CPI.
On a y-o-y
basis, however, Canada’s inflation rate demonstrated a 2.7 per cent gain last
month, decelerating
from an unrevised 2.9 per cent in March. This marked the lowest annual inflation rate since March 2021 (+2.2 per cent).
Economists had forecast
inflation would increase by 0.5 per cent m-o-m and 2.7 per cent y-o-y in April.
According to
the report, the April broad-based deceleration in the headline annual inflation
rate was led by food prices, services and durable goods. Meanwhile, gasoline
prices, which rose at a quicker pace in April (+6.1 per cent y-o-y) than in
March (+4.5 per cent y-o-y) slightly moderated this slowdown.
The trimmed-mean
CPI – the preferred measure of core inflation of the Bank of Canada - soared
2.9 per cent y-o-y in April, following an upwardly revised 3.2 per cent y-o-y surge (from
+3.1 per cent y-o-y) in March. This was the weakest annual gain since July 2021
(+3.1 per cent y-o-y). Economists had predicted an increase
of 2.9 per cent y-o-y.