Manitoba’s inflation rate holds steady: StatsCan

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This article was published 16/11/2017 (2350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s annual inflation held steady at 1.5 per cent last month as higher costs for things such as property taxes were offset by lower prices for items such as fresh meats and vegetables, new Statistics Canada data shows.

In its latest monthly Consumer Price Index report released on Friday, the federal agency said property taxes, as well as the cost of personal care supplies and equipment, both increased by 4.1 per cent from September to October in Manitoba.

Another consumer item that saw a month-to-month increase was inter-city transportation (up 2.8 per cent).

However, those increases were largely offset by lower costs for things like fresh or frozen beef (down 9.9 per cent), fresh vegetables (-6.0 per cent), and fresh or frozen chicken (-4.2 per cent).

On a year-over-year basis, some of the consumer items which cost more last month than in October 2016 were inter-city transportation (up 10.5 per cent), homeowners’ replacement cost (+4.8 per cent) and property taxes and other special charges (+4.1 per cent).

Those increases were countered by lower prices for things like traveller accommodation (down 14.9 per cent), natural gas (-14.3 per cent) and women’s clothing (-3.8 per cent).

Nationally, the the annual pace of inflation slowed in October as increases in the price of gasoline were smaller than in September, Statistics Canada said.

Canada’s consumer price index was up 1.4 per cent in October compared with a year ago, following a 1.6 per cent increase in September.

Excluding gasoline, the index was up 1.3 per cent compared with a year ago — more than the 1.1 per cent increase in September.

Prices were up in seven of the eight major categories compared with a year ago with the transportation and shelter categories contributing the most.

Transportation prices last month were up 3.0 per cent compared with a year ago following a 3.8 per cent increase in September as gasoline prices were up 6.5 per cent year over year in October compared with 14.1 per cent in September in the aftermath of hurricane Harvey.

Shelter costs were up 1.2 per cent.

Prices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products were up 2.7 per cent from a year ago, while food costs were up 1.3 per cent as food bought in restaurants gained 2.9 per cent.

Prices for clothing and footwear, the only category to move lower, fell 1.5 per cent compared with a year ago as the cost of women’s clothing fell 4.6 per cent compared with a year ago.

The Bank of Canada, which a uses a two per cent inflation target in setting monetary policy, raised its key interest rate target twice this year following strong economic growth to start 2017.

However, economists expect growth for the second half of the year to come in at a slower pace and the central bank has suggested that while further rate hikes are likely, they will be cautious and pay close attention to the incoming economic data.

Of the Bank of Canada’s three preferred measures of core inflation, which seek to look through the noise of more-volatile items, CPI-common increased to 1.6 per cent compared with 1.5 per cent in September, while CP-median slipped to 1.7 per cent from 1.8 per cent. CPI-trim held steady at 1.5 per cent.

—The Canadian Press, with files by Murray McNeill