Canada’s inflation rate cools to 2.7% as grocery prices ease further
The annual inflation rate slowed to 2.7 per cent in April, Statistics Canada said Tuesday, as cooling grocery price pressures offset higher fuel costs.
Inflation on food bought from the grocery store slowed to 1.4 per cent annually last month, down from 1.9 per cent in March, according to the agency.
Slowdowns in annual price growth for meat, non-alcoholic beverages and bakery and cereal products helped to pull down the yearly inflation rate, StatCan said. Fruits, nuts and seafood products meanwhile saw annual price declines.
Taking a longer view, the agency noted that prices at the grocery store had jumped 21.4 per cent from April 2021.
But gas prices were growing at a faster annual pace as consumers paid 7.9 per cent more month-to-month in April.
Rising costs for rent and homeowners renewing their mortgages continue to put upward pressure on shelter inflation.
April was particularly difficult for renters in Alberta, according to the agency. Rent prices were up 16.2 per cent year-over-year in the province, almost double the 8.2 per cent hike nationally.
Prices rose on a month-to-month basis in April, but because the jump was smaller than the same time last year, the overall inflation rate slowed from 2.9 per cent in March.
April’s report marks the fourth consecutive “tame” reading for the annual inflation index, noted BMO chief economist Doug Porter in a note to clients Tuesday morning. It also marks the final reading the Bank of Canada will get on price pressures ahead of its next interest rate decision on June 5.
All of the central bank’s preferred metrics of “core” inflation also cooled below three per cent in April, according to StatCan’s report.
The Bank of Canada has said it wants to see signs that the easing in
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