Canadian Consumer Price Index Climbs 3.4% Year-Over-Year in December

Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported on Tuesday (1-16-24) that the Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 3.4% year-over-year in December, following a 3.1% gain in November.

Gasoline prices fell on a monthly basis for the fourth consecutive month in a row; however, the headline acceleration was largely the result of higher year-over-year prices for gasoline, up 1.4%, when compared to November, down 7.7%. StatCan explains that this was the result of a base-year effect where gasoline prices fell more on a monthly basis in December 2022 than they did in December 2023. Excluding gasoline, the headline CPI slowed year-over-year, from 3.6% in November to 3.5% in December.

Additional CPI acceleration came from airfares, fuel oil, passenger vehicles, and rent. Prices for food purchased from stores climbed 4.7% year-over-year, matching the same 4.7% increase in November. Moderating the acceleration in the all-items CPI were lower prices for travel tours.

On a monthly basis, the CPI fell 0.3% in December, after a 0.1% gain in November. Lower month-over-month price movements for travel tours, down 18.2%, and gasoline, down 4.4%, contributed to the monthly decline. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.3% in December.