May 2007 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 will be a big issue from now until we figure out how to do it cheaply again.

As can be seen, inflation is highest in Alberta, but that wouldn’t just be gasoline prices; it would also include accommodation expenses, given the prices we have seen for new houses in Calgary and Edmonton.

The huge difference between most provinces and Alberta does skew the dataset 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