The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.9% year over year last month after increasing 3.4% in December.
Statistics Canada noted a 4% decline in gasoline prices between January 2023 and last month. Excluding gasoline, headline CPI growth slowed to 3.2% year over year in January.
On a monthly basis, gasoline prices fell 0.9% in January, for a fifth consecutive month.
However, the federal agency observed a sharp increase of 6.2% in the housing index in Canada between January 2023 and last month.
During the same period, the food index rose 3.9%, which was a year-over-year slowdown last month compared to the previous month. Price growth for food purchased in stores slowed to 3.4% year-over-year in January, compared with a year-over-year increase of 4.7% in December.
Price increases last month were 2.8% for meat, 4.2% for prepared foods, 1.5% for dairy products, 4% for bakery products and 1.9%. fresh fruit.
Statistics Canada says last month’s decline in price increases for food purchased in stores put downward pressure on the all-items CPI.
Furthermore, air fares decreased year over year in January, by 14.3% compared to a decline of 9.7% in December.
In contrast, prices for cell phone services fell year-over-year by 16.4% in January after falling 26.8% in December.