Canada’s inflation rate slowed to 3.1 per cent in October, down from 3.8 per cent the month before.
Statistics Canada said the year-over-year deceleration was largely due to lower gasoline prices.
Gasoline prices fell 7.8 per cent on a year-over-year basis after a 7.5 per cent increase in September.
StatCan said the decline was partly driven by a base-year effect, as prices spiked last October when OPEC+ announced production cuts.
“In October 2023, prices for gasoline fell 6.4% month over month. The decline was largely due to lower refining margins, which were partly driven by producers switching to cheaper winter blends,” the agency said.
StatCan said the largest contributors to the year-over-year CPI increase continued to be mortgage interest cost, food purchased from stores and rent.
Grocery prices remained elevated but continued their trend of slower year-over-year growth. They were up 5.4 per cent in October, compared to 5.8 per cent in September.
Rent prices rose at a faster pace year over year, up 8.2 per cent in October compared to 7.3 per cent in September.
The largest increases in rent prices were seen in Nova Scotia (14.6 per cent), Alberta (9.9 per cent), British Columbia (9.1 per cent) and Quebec (9.1 per cent).
Regional inflation numbers
Prices increased year over year in all provinces in October but at a slower pace compared with September, according to StatCan.
Quebec (4.2 per cent), Ontario (3.3 per cent) and Nova Scotia (3.2 per cent) had inflation rates above the national average.
They were followed by New Brunswick (2.8 per cent), British Columbia (2.7 per cent), Newfoundland and Labrador (2.4 per cent), Alberta (2.1 per cent), Manitoba (1.9 per cent), Saskatchewan (1.8 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (1.7 per cent).
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