The inflation rate slowed to 3.1 percent on a year-over-year basis, down from 3.8 percent in September, as the price of gasoline fell, Statistics Canada said on Nov. 21.
The agency said the price drivers paid for gasoline in October fell 7.8 percent from a year earlier compared with a 7.5 percent increase in September, driven partly by a spike in gasoline prices in October 2022 after OPEC announced production cuts.
Excluding gasoline, Statistics Canada says the consumer price index was up 3.6 percent for October, following a 3.7 percent increase for September.
Prices for goods were up 1.6 percent, while prices for services were up 4.6 percent, largely driven by higher prices for travel tours, rent, and property taxes, and other special charges.
The agency said the largest contributors to inflation continued to be mortgage interest costs, food purchased from stores, and rent.
Mortgage interest costs were up 30.5 percent compared with a year ago, while the cost of rent was up 8.2 percent.
While grocery prices rose faster than overall inflation, Statistics Canada said the pace continued to slow. Grocery prices were up 5.4 percent year-over-year in October compared with a 5.8 percent move higher in September.
The inflation report came ahead of the federal government’s fall economic update expected on Nov. 21.
The decline in inflation should be welcome news for the Bank of Canada as it looks for evidence of a sustained slowdown in consumer price growth.
The central bank opted to hold its key interest rate steady at five percent at its last rate decision, but it has said it is prepared to raise rates again if needed to bring inflation under control.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem is scheduled to give a speech on Nov. 22 to the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce on the high cost of inflation, while the central bank’s final interest rate decision for the year is set for Dec. 6.
