The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.7% on a year-over-year basis in May, matching the 1.7% increase in April. Compared with one year earlier, a smaller price increase for rent and a decline in travel tours put downward pressure on the CPI in May. Smaller declines for gas and cellular services put upward pressure on the index compared with the previous month. Excluding energy, the CPI rose 2.7% in May, following a 2.9% increase in April. On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.6% in May. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI was up 0.2%. The shelter component grew at a slower pace year over year in May, rising ... (full story)

The annual pace of inflation held steady at 1.7 per cent in May as cooling shelter costs helped tame price pressures, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. Shelter costs rose three per cent in May, StatCan said, marking a slowdown from 3.4 per cent in April. The agency singled out Ontario as the major source of rent relief in the country. Slowing population growth and a jump in new supply helped dampen rent hikes in May. Mortgage interest costs meanwhile decelerated for the 21st consecutive month amid lower interest rates from the Bank of Canada. Economists had broadly expected inflation would remain unchanged heading into ... (full story)