Consumer Inflation in Canada Dips to 6.8% in November

Canada’s annual inflation rate fell slightly to 6.8% in November amid falling prices at the gas station, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.

The government agency said that grocery prices meanwhile were up 11.4 percent year-over-year in the month, compared with an 11.0 percent annual increase in October.

The figure is modestly higher than what economists tracked by Bloomberg had forecast. The average consensus was for a 6.7 percent rise in inflation last month.

The country’s annual inflation rate held steady to 6.9 percent in September and October.

Core inflation – which strips out volatile food and energy prices – rose to five percent at an annual rate, slightly higher than the 4.9 percent expected by economists.

Other Canadian Inflation Data

The month-over-month Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.1% in November. This is down from the previous reading of 0.7%.

In other news, the Annual Median CPI came in at 5.0% slightly higher than October’s revised reading of 4.9%.

The Annual Trimmed CPI was 5.3%, matching November’s figure.

Finally, the Annual Common CPI was reported at 6.7% in November. October’s figure was revised to 6.3%.

Market Reaction

Even with inflation trending in the right direction, the Bank of Canada is not expected to lighten up its tightening policy. Like the Federal Reserve and the other major central bank, it remains committed to driving down inflation to its benchmark 2% level.

The USD/CAD was edging higher ahead of the CPI data, reaching an intraday high at 1.3638. It is now trading 1.3602.