Inflation Cools Off in February in Canada, But Remains Decent

Posted Wednesday, March 17, 2021 by
Skerdian Meta • 1 min read

Inflation turned negative in Canada during last spring’s lockdowns and remained quite weak throughout the year, turning positive and negative. But, in the last two months CPI (consumer price index) inflation has improved considerably and despite the tick down in February, it remains quite decent at 0.5%.

Canada February CPI Inflation Report

February CPI YoY +1.1% vs +1.3% expected
January CPI YoY was +1.0%
CPI MoM +0.5% vs +0.7% expected
January CPI MoM was +0.6%
Full report

Core CPI Inflation Data:

Median +2.0% vs 2.0% exp (prior 2.0%)
Common +1.3% vs 1.4% exp (prior 1.3%)
Trim +1.9% vs 2.0% exp (prior 2.0%)

This report turned into a mess last month after Statistics Canada changed its methodology for its three core measures. That didn’t go down well, and then they backtracked. This is the fastest y/y pace in more than a year as gasoline prices climbed 5.0%. Durable goods prices were up 2.8% y/y with appliance prices up 6.1% y/y. The main drag continues to be clothing prices, which are down 4.8%.

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