Increases in the Canadian Consumer Price Index Continue to Moderate in February

On Tuesday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that the Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 2.8% year-over-year in February, down marginally from a 2.9% gain in January.

The February deceleration included the indexes for cellular services, food purchased from stores, and internet access. Those declines were offset by a 0.8% year-over-year increase in gasoline prices, following a 4.0% decline in January.

Excluding gasoline, the headline CPI slowed to a 2.9% year-over-year increase in February, down from 3.2% in January. Prices for rent and the mortgage interest cost index continued to apply upward pressure on the headline CPI.

On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.3% in February, up from 0.0% in January. The largest contributors to the monthly increase were higher prices for travel tours and gasoline. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1%.