The Canadian headline inflation came in below expectations in September. On a year-on-year basis, the consumer price index rose 1.9 percent, as compared with expectations of a 2.1 percent rise. Sequentially, prices dropped 0.1 percent in September.
In spite of the headline fall, most subcategories rose on the month, driven by clothing prices, food prices and health and personal care in September. Meanwhile, recreation and education prices dropped 2 percent, owing to a tuition cut in Ontario, while transportation costs dropped 0.4 percent due to declining gasoline prices.
The Bank of Canada’s core measures rose one tenth in September, with CPI-median at 2.2 percent, CPI-trim at 2.1 percent, and CPI-common at 1.9 percent. The average of the three measures is 2.1 percent, as compared with August’s 2 percent.
The weakness in the headline figure shows lower airfares, which have been highly volatile and the one-off impact of the cut in Ontario tuition, noted TD Economics in a research report.
“Canadian economic data remains mixed, but still generally solid. On the GDP front, growth looks to have cooled in the third quarter, but job growth remains buoyant and the housing market continues to make strides. This is likely to keep the Bank of Canada on the sidelines when it meets later this month”, added TD Economics.
