Canada Inflation Ticks Up in March to 2.9%

By Robb M. Stewart

OTTAWA--Canada's annual inflation rate accelerated slightly last month as consumers paid more at the pumps and rent and mortgage-interest costs remain elevated.

The country's consumer price index in March rose 2.9% from a year earlier, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. The increase was in line with economist expectations after the index cooled to 2.8% in February, the slowest pace since last June.

On a month-over-month basis, prices rose 0.6%, the biggest increase since July but slightly softer than the consensus forecast for an advance of 0.7% in March. On a seasonally adjusted basis, CPI rose 0.3% from the previous month.

Meanwhile, the average of the Bank of Canada's preferred trimmed mean and weighted median measures for underlying inflation cooled to 2.95% on-year in March, from 3.1% the month before.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 16, 2024 08:51 ET (12:51 GMT)

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