Ottawa: Consumer prices in Canada jumped 2.1 percent in January over the same period last year, a stronger-than-expected increase triggered by a surge in gasoline prices, the government statistical agency said yesterday.
The increase is higher than December’s 1.5 percent rise, and well above the consensus forecast for a 1.6 percent increase.
Consumer prices were up 0.7 percent in January over the previous month, after rising 0.4 percent in December, Statistics Canada reported.
For the sixth consecutive month, the transportation price index increased, up 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.
Overall, seven of the eight items in the price index increased in January, including recreation, alcohol and tobacco, and housing.
