May Inflation: Steady at 2.2%

This is good news to read, better news would be a drop in inflation, but given the incredible rises in oil prices this is about all we can hope for these days.

The upward pressure came largely from increases in the costs associated with owned accommodation, as well as higher gasoline prices. These were partially offset by a decline in the price of natural gas.

The 12-month change in the all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) without energy components was 2.1% in May, compared with a 2.3% advance posted in April. This index posted increases above 2.0% for the past four months.

That’s about to be expected. The cost of operating a motor vehicle is going to be a big issue from now ’til we figure out how to do it cheaply again.

As can be seen it seems to be the inflation is worst in Alberta, but that wouldn’t just be gasoline prices, that would be accommodation expenses as well, given the prices we have seen for new houses in Calgary and Edmonton.

The huge difference between most of the provinces and Alberta does skew the data set as well, but that is for Statisticians and Economists to argue.

Consumer Price Index and major components
(2002=100)
	Relative importance	May 2007	April 2007	May 2006	April to May 2007	May 2006 to May 2007
		Unadjusted
					% change
All-items	100.00	112.1	111.6	109.7	0.4	2.2
Food	17.04	112.5	112.2	108.7	0.3	3.5
Shelter	26.62	116.0	116.2	113.0	-0.2	2.7
Household operations and furnishings	11.10	103.0	103.3	102.4	-0.3	0.6
Clothing and footwear	5.36	96.0	97.7	96.1	-1.7	-0.1
Transportation	19.88	120.7	118.6	117.8	1.8	2.5
Health and personal care	4.73	107.4	106.8	106.1	0.6	1.2
Recreation, education and reading	12.19	102.2	100.9	101.5	1.3	0.7
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products	3.07	125.2	124.5	121.8	0.6	2.8
Special aggregates
Goods	48.78	109.6	109.2	108.4	0.4	1.1
Services	51.22	114.5	113.9	111.0	0.5	3.2
All-items excluding food and energy	73.57	109.0	108.7	107.0	0.3	1.9
Energy	9.39	142.0	139.1	139.8	2.1	1.6
Core CPI	82.71	109.9	109.6	107.5	0.3	2.2
1. 2005 CPI basket weights at April 2007 prices, Canada , effective May 2007. Detailed weights are available under the Documentation section of survey 2301 (www.statcan.gc.ca/english/sdds/index.htm). 2. Figures may not add to 100% due to rounding. 3. The measure of the Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) excludes from the All-items CPI the effect of changes in indirect taxes and eight of the most volatile components identified by the Bank of Canada: fruit, fruit preparations and nuts; vegetables and vegetable preparations; mortgage interest cost; natural gas; fuel oil and other fuel; gasoline; inter-city transportation; and tobacco products and smokers’ supplies . For additional information on the Core CPI, please consult the Bank of Canada website (www.bankofcanada.ca/en/inflation/index.htm).