Rising grocery shopping and higher mortgage rates helped inflation rise again year-on-year in May 2023, albeit at a slower pace, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada released on Tuesday.
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The consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.4% year-on-year in May after rising 4.4% in April. That’s the smallest increase since June 2021, Statistics Canada found.
The slower growth was partly due to lower gasoline prices (-18.3%) year-on-year.
Groceries are still expensive
Data shows that Canadians paid more on mortgage interest rates in May (+29.9%) than in May 2022, reflecting an increase in the number of mortgages taken out or extended at higher interest rates.
In the grocery basket, prices rose 9% year-on-year in May. “This increase is still more than double the headline inflation rate and is almost unchanged from the 9.1% increase in April,” it said.
The food products that recorded the largest year-on-year increases were edible fats and oils (+20.3%), baked goods (+15%) and cereal products (+13.6%).
According to Statistics Canada, price growth slowed in all provinces in May compared to April. Those in the Atlantic showed more of a slowdown.
In Quebec, inflation reached 4% yoy in May and rose 0.7% between April and May.
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