Statistics Canada announced on Tuesday the country’s consumer price
index (CPI) advanced 0.5 percent m-o-m in March, following an unrevised 0.4
percent m-o-m gain in the previous month.
On the y-o-y basis, Canada’s inflation rate increased 4.3 percent last
month, sharply decelerating from an unrevised
5.2 percent rise in February, in part due to base-year effects. That marked the
smallest annual inflation rate since August 2021 (+4.1 percent).
Economists had forecast inflation would jump 0.5 percent m-o-m and 4.3
percent y-o-y in March.
According to the report, the March monthly gain in the headline CPI was underpinned
by increases in all 8 major components, led
by clothing and footwear (+1.3 percent m-o-m), recreation, education and
reading (+1.1 percent m-o-m) and alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and
recreational cannabis (+0.9 percent m-o-m).
Meanwhile, the closely watched the Bank of Canada's core index climbed
4.3 percent y-o-y in March, following an unrevised 4.7 percent y-o-y surge in February.
That was the smallest increase since January 2022 (+4.3 percent y-o-y). Economists had predicted an advance of 4.4 percent
y-o-y.