Consumer prices in Canada jumped 2.1 percent in January, a stronger-than-expected increase triggered by a surge in gasoline prices, the government statistical agency said Friday.
The increase is higher than December’s 1.5 percent rise and well above the consensus forecast for a 1.6 percent increase.
For the sixth consecutive month, the transportation price index increased 2.8 percent from the previous month and 6.3 percent from the same period last year, mainly due to higher gasoline prices.
The prices of gasoline jumped 20.6 percent in January, the biggest increase since September 2011. This was attributed to higher crude oil prices in January, coupled with a monthly decline a year ago.
Excluding gasoline, consumer prices were up 1.5 percent in January, compared with 1.4 percent in December.
However, food prices continued to decline with a 2.1 percent drop in January, following a 0.6 percent slide in December. Prices for food purchased from stores fell 4 percent year-on-year, mainly due to a decline in prices for fresh vegetables (down 15.5 percent), fresh fruit (down 10.8 percent) and meat (down 1.7 percent).

Source: Arab News