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Canada's annual inflation rises to 2.3% in March on higher gasoline prices+ O o* g& h3 g2 g
Thu Apr 19, 8:18 AM/ G9 i$ W, }0 L6 S* Z+ t* ]3 ~5 u- B
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OTTAWA (CP) - Boosted by sharply higher gasoline prices, Canada's annual inflation rate continued to pick up steam in March, rising to 2.3 per cent from two per cent in February.
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On a month-to-month basis, the consumer price index climbed 0.8 per cent, a slight increase from the 0.7 per cent hike recorded in February. 9 j. T) n4 l0 b- Q, b5 B
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There has not been such a pronounced increase in inflation in Canada since consumer prices shot up 0.9 per cent in the wake of hurricane Katrina in September 2005. 3 W5 x, v1 z( I ]
* D2 ?" e+ L. s1 ^ h5 ?7 r9 lStatistics Canada attributed most of the March increase to prices at the gas pump across the country. Consumers paid 10 per cent more for gasoline in March than during the same month a year ago, the strongest one-year hike since last July, when gasoline prices jumped by 16.1 per cent. 2 V& h: ]7 a1 S( m! c4 P; X( |; _
2 s1 J$ I1 a& KThe agency attribute the spike in motor fuel prices to strong demand in the United States, which had the effect of depleting American reserves and pushing prices up. , o& ?! B4 v. i5 t: R( `* c
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Another factor in the higher March inflation number were costs associated with owned accommodation, including a 5.4 per cent increase in the cost of mortgages and a 6.9 per cent rise in homeowners' replacement costs.
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! e/ ]4 ~+ [2 n5 I/ h0 o; BWhile gasoline prices rose, natural gas prices declined, except in Alberta.
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Excluding energy components, the 12-month rate of increase in prices actually slowed slightly to 2.1 per cent in March after a 2.2 per cent increase the previous month. 1 l2 t/ {( g3 E0 B( \, `. H5 w$ \
2 u9 V( ^, u4 [! O+ Q6 ?) h# ICore inflation, the index also used by the Bank of Canada to monitor the inflation-control target, rose by 2.3 per cent from March last year, but was slightly down from 2.4 per cent in February.
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The biggest increase in inflation occurred in Alberta, where prices rose 5.5 per cent, with the cost of housing and gasoline the biggest contributing factors. + h% r+ }; f) C
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Here's what happened in the provinces and territories. Previous month in brackets.
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/ D4 X; t/ L c-Newfoundland and Labrador 2.0 (1.6)
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-Prince Edward Island 2.7 (1.0)
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-Nova Scotia 2.1 (1.9) - C2 n: h4 k( n( G( r) _
6 ]: `. O/ i0 d% v8 L2 ^' J
-New Brunswick 1.4 (0.9) , a9 J2 i# z) n5 v' W3 _; d
+ s% T2 z6 O; D3 p) ^3 [-Quebec 1.8 (1.4) 9 Y c* d" I2 J0 w) i- T& Y% J7 K2 _
u: o1 h, [0 T1 L-Ontario 1.8 (1.6)
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-Manitoba 2.6 (2.1)
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-Saskatchewan 2.6 (1.9) * o; H( y6 O' ^( P. p
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-Alberta 5.5 (4.9) 7 O- o3 ^* s0 y
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-British Columbia 2.2 (2.2)
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! f( F! O: R) S; {7 n-Whitehorse, Yukon 2.0 (1.3) 4 P, a/ s( O& S6 C1 e. l2 V
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-Yellowknife, N.W.T. 2.6 (1.8) ?& W ~1 R/ U& A# ]2 g( j, |! ^
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-Iqaluit, Nunavut 2.9 (2.7) 1 u* m/ O4 E' D$ y
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The agency also released rates for major cities, but cautioned that figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples. Previous month in brackets.
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5 f: }/ n( Z! B" y9 K) G-St. John's, N.L., 2.0 (1.4)
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-Charlottetown-Summerside, 2.6 (1.2)
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& ?7 @$ z- [' a0 L! j* F-Halifax, 2.2 (2.1) ( t. c+ h d! {
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-Saint John, N.B., 1.4 (0.8) 1 v4 O5 p7 t( B" w# @
# L& w' s1 _4 q-Quebec, 1.6 (1.1) . i2 s4 ?5 i; a) y# B$ ^8 I
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-Montreal 1.9 (1.5)
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-Ottawa 2.0 (1.7)
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-Toronto 1.7 (1.5) , p) c/ p) ]2 B# n
3 g j8 K+ B: J' L. R-Thunder Bay, Ont., 1.1 (0.9) 7 d7 Z Q( F" {; ^
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-Winnipeg, 2.6 (2.3)
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4 U1 C$ N4 g( k' I2 h; A6 |-Regina 2.6 (1.8) 0 U8 Y3 K( e2 I# e7 B
* z# X8 S; j" W" {1 x% A-Saskatoon 2.5 (2.0) # u. @: g; x6 [& \: {6 I7 k& ?
$ R( R) B- e' z- s* o* j-Edmonton 4.6 (3.7)
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$ [$ U. D3 h3 W5 r-Calgary 6.5 (6.1) . Y1 r% |0 {$ {" B( w) }) v, W
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-Vancouver 2.5 (2.8) 2 I: M$ `% l7 C8 P: u; x* [
8 x, Y! k& a3 t6 r-Victoria 1.9 (1.8) |
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