Canada: Inflation picks up in August from the prior month
Latest reading: Consumer prices were up 1.9% on a year-on-year basis in August, following a 1.7% increase in the prior month. The August reading was within the Central Bank’s 1.0–3.0% inflation target range and slightly below market expectations.
Relative to the previous month’s figures, there were higher price pressures for transportation (-0.2% year on year vs -0.9% in July), food (+3.5% vs +3.3% in July) and clothing and footwear (+1.7% vs +0.5% in July). In contrast, there were reduced price pressures for housing (+2.6% vs +3.0% in July) and recreation and culture (+0.5% vs +0.9% in July).
Meanwhile, core consumer prices were up 2.6% on a year-on-year basis in August, following a 2.6% rise in the previous month.
Finally, consumer prices fell 0.06% in August in month-on-month terms, following a 0.30% rise in the prior month.