Canada’s inflation rate rose to an annual rate of 1.7 per cent in April as higher prices for food and shelter contributed to a higher cost of living, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
Prices rose in seven of the eight major components on a year-over-year basis in April, Canada’s federal data agency said. The food and shelter indexes contributed the most to the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the report said. The clothing and footwear index was the only index to decline on a year-over-year basis in April.
Fresh vegetable prices were up 11.7 per cent year-over-year in April and food from restaurants was up 2.7 per cent.
In the closely watched energy sector, prices in April were down 3.2 per cent compared with a year ago, but the drop was much smaller than the 7.8 per cent decline in March.
Gasoline in April was down 5.8 per cent compared with a year ago, while natural gas fell 12.8 per cent and fuel oil plunged 19.3 per cent. The moves compared with drops of 13.6 per cent, 17.4 per cent and 25.8 per cent respectively for March.
The inflation rate increased in every Canadian province except Alberta, where it stayed flat at 1.5 per cent.
Josh Nye, an economist with RBC Economics, said the 0.3 per cent rise in consumer prices, which pushed the annual rate of inflation to 1.7 per cent from the 1.3 per cent in March, matched market expectations.
“Today’s CPI report will have little impact on the Bank of Canada’s deliberations ahead of next week’s policy announcement,” Nye said. “The recent pickup in energy prices leaves headline inflation tracking slightly above its forecast, but core inflation remains close to the 2 per cent rate that the Bank expects will persist throughout its projection.”
With files from CBC News
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