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Consumer prices in Canada climbed at the fastest rate in a decade, outpacing estimates and potentially fueling concerns that the country -- much of which is still in lockdown -- is entering a period of persistent inflation.
Annual inflation accelerated to 3.4 per cent in April, compared with 2.2 per cent in March, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday in Ottawa. That exceeded economist predictions of a 3.2 per cent annual pace. On a monthly basis, inflation rose 0.5 per cent versus the 0.2 per cent economists were expecting.
The annual reading -- the highest since May 2011 -- may raise worries that price pressures could be stronger than predicted by the Bank of Canada, which has been cautioning against over-reacting to an inflation spike it expects will be only transitory. If inflation proves more durable, however, that could force the central bank to bring forward interest rate increases that investors aren’t anticipating until later next year.
Core inflation -- often seen as a better measure of underlying price pressures -- rose to 2.1 per cent from 1.9 per cent in March. That’s the highest since 2012. |
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