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Canada’s inflation slows in February on falling gasoline prices Theophilos Argitis Bloomberg News Last updated Friday, Mar. 18, 2016 9:05AM EDT Motorists fuel up their cars at the Shell gas station in downtown Toronto in this file photo. (Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail) Canadian inflation slowed in February as consumers benefited from falling gasoline prices and a rebound in the currency tempered prices for imported goods. The consumer price index rose 1.4 per cent in February from a year earlier, down from a pace of 2 per cent in the prior month, Statistics Canada said Friday from Ottawa. The core rate which strips out prices for gasoline and other volatile items fell to 1.9 per cent from 2 per cent. The slowdown, which exceeded economist expectations, is in line with the Bank of Canada’s analysis that slack in the economy poses little risk of driving up inflation in the country. The Bank of Canada had expressed concern about the slide in the currency over the prior several months along with oil prices, prompting Governor Stephen Poloz from holding off from lowering interest rates in January. That decision, on Jan. 20, halted the depreciation and fueled a rebound in the currency. Food costs remained one of the biggest drivers of inflation in February, rising 3.9 per cent from a year earlier. But that’s down from a pace of 4 per cent a month earlier. Most of Canada’s fresh produce is imported through the winter. Excluding food, inflation was 0.8 per 귀찮아도 부탁드립니다ㅜㅜ내일까지예요...육하원칟으로 정리좀... cent in February. Gasoline prices fell 6.9 per cent during the month of February and were down 13.1 per cent from a year earlier. Excluding gasoline, inflation would be 1.9 per cent. On a monthly basis, total inflation advanced 0.2 per cent in January and the core rate – which excludes volatile items like gasoline – rose 0.5 per cent. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted that overall monthly prices would rise 0.4 per cent and the core rate would gain 0.5 per cent.
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