OTTAWA: Inflation in Canada is cooling faster than expected, as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 7.0% in August on a year-over-year basis, down from a 7.6% gain in July.
Statistics Canada in a statement said that this was the second consecutive slowdown in the year-over-year price growth and was largely driven by lower gasoline prices in August compared with July. The gasoline prices rose less in August (+22.1%) compared with July (+35.6%).
Excluding gasoline, prices rose 6.3% year over year in August, following a 6.6% increase in July. This is the first month since June 2021 that the year-over-year CPI, excluding gasoline, has slowed.
The data states that on a monthly basis, the CPI fell 0.3% in August, the largest monthly decline since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI was up 0.1%, the smallest gain since December 2020.
But there is incessant rise in cost of food purchased from stores in August (+10.8%), which is the fastest rise in the typical grocery bill since 1981. The extreme weather, higher input costs, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and supply chain disruptions are stated to be major reasons behind rising inflation and food cost.