After falling to 1.6% in September, the inflation rate rose a notch in October, to 2%.
Posted at 8:36 a.m.
Updated at 9:06 a.m.
This rise is explained by the price of gasoline which shows a less significant drop than the previous month, indicates Statistics Canada. It was also the price of gasoline that caused the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to decline in September.
In Quebec, the inflation rate rose from 1.3% in September to 1.6% in October.
The October CPI reading contains some good news and some not so good news. Thus, grocery store prices increased more quickly in October, at 2.7%, compared to 2.4% in September. October is the third month in a row that the price of food purchased in grocery stores has increased faster than the average inflation rate.
On the housing side, price growth is less rapid. The housing component of the CPI, which includes the cost of mortgage interest and rental prices, is up 4.8%, after increasing 5% in September.
The cost of mortgage interest is increasing less quickly due to falling interest rates. After reaching a peak in August 2023, at 30.9%, the increase in the cost of mortgage interest is 14.7% in October.
Rent prices recorded their lowest increase in a year, at 7.3%, after increasing by 8.2% in September. Even if the increase slows down, rent prices remain high. Since 2021, the increase in rent prices has reached 21.6%, underlines Statistics Canada.
The cost of mortgage interest and the price of rent remain the main factors fueling inflation.
Property taxes are up 6.% in October, their highest increase since 1992. Property taxes take into account the value of housing, municipal and provincial tax rates and fees related to services such as garbage collection. In Quebec, the increase in property taxes is 4.6%, while the largest increases were observed in Newfoundland and Labrador (9.7%) and British Columbia (8%).
The increase in the Consumer Price Index in October was widely expected, including by the Bank of Canada, which should not deviate from its trajectory and continue to reduce its key rate. The next announcement from the Bank of Canada is scheduled for December 11.
