Canada: Consumer prices year-on-year fall in May
Consumer prices increased 0.1% from a month earlier on a seasonally-adjusted basis in May, contrasting the 0.7% drop in April. According to Statistics Canada, a strong rise in transportation prices costs drove the month-on-month rise in May.
Consumer prices in annual terms fell 0.4% in May (April: -0.2%). The reading was lower than market analysts’ expectations of a flat reading, and was well below the Central Bank’s 1.0%–3.0% target range. Meanwhile, annual average inflation ticked down to 1.6% in May from 1.8% the month prior.