Canada Inflation Ticks Up to 2.9% on Higher Gas Prices
- Core measures closely watched by Bank of Canada decelerate
- Macklem wants to see sustained downward momentum before cuts
March’s inflation data suggest the decline in core inflation so far this year isn’t a temporary dip.
Photographer: Isabella Falsetti/BloombergCanadian consumer prices reaccelerated slightly as expected due to higher gasoline prices, while core metrics showed further disinflation progress, keeping the central bank on track to pivot to easier policy as early as June or July.
The consumer price index rose 2.9% in March from a year ago, up from a 2.8% increase a month earlier, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday in Ottawa. That matched the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Excluding gasoline, the index slowed to 2.8% from a year ago, down from 2.9% in February.