Inflation rate slows to 3.1% in October, still above Bank of Canada target
Posted November 21, 2023 1:00 am.
Last Updated November 21, 2023 8:22 am.
Statistics Canada says the inflation rate slowed to 3.1 per cent on a year-over-year basis, down from 3.8 per cent in September.
The drop came as the price drivers paid for gasoline in October fell 7.8 per cent from a year earlier, compared with a 7.5 per cent increase in September.
Excluding gasoline, Statistics Canada says the consumer price index was up 3.6 per cent for October, following a 3.7 per cent increase for September.
The agency says the largest contributors to inflation for the month continued to be mortgage interest costs, food purchased from stores and rent.
While grocery prices continued to rise faster than overall inflation, Statistics Canada says their pace of increases continued to slow. Grocery prices were up 5.4 per cent in October compared with a 5.8 per cent move higher in September.
The agency also released rates for major cities, with Vancouver seeing an inflation rate of just over the national average at 3.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, Victoria’s inflation rate was more than a percentage point lower, at 2.4 per cent.
The inflation report comes ahead of the federal government’s fall economic update expected this afternoon.
