Canada's CPI Rises 3% Year Over Year Amid Travel Tour Price Surge
Canada's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3% year over year in August, matching July's increase, according to Statistics Canada. The agency noted that prices for gasoline increased at a slower pace compared to July, exerting downward pressure on the all-items CPI.
In contrast, excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 2.4% in August after increasing 2.2% in July. Higher prices for travel tours and rent offset the slowdown in gasoline prices, Statistics Canada said. Travel tour prices surged 26.1% year over year in August compared to a 15.2% increase in July.
Core measures of inflation showed limited evidence that high energy prices are spilling over into wider inflationary pressure, according to Andrew Grantham, Senior Economist at CIBC Capital Markets. The Bank of Canada's core inflation measures started to drift above 2% in August due to higher energy costs driving price increases in other areas of the economy.