People shop in a grocery store in Montreal, Wednesday, November 16, 2022. Statistics Canada is set to release a report on its January inflation reading this morning. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada is set to release its reading on inflation for January this morning.
The federal agency’s consumer price index report will give insight on how high prices were in January compared with a year ago, as well as the month prior.
Canada’s annual inflation rate has been slowing since the summer, reaching 6.3 per cent in December, but economists are predicting that higher fuel prices in January may have hindered that trend.
Economists say the cost of groceries, which has been a pain point for many Canadians, likely eased last month as agriculture commodity prices moderated.
RBC is forecasting the annual inflation rate for January to come in at 6.1 per cent and CIBC is forecasting a slight increase to 6.4 per cent.
The Bank of Canada, which is planning to hold interest rates for now, will be monitoring the report ahead of its March 8 interest rate decision.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2023.
