CPI for March at 1.4%

We take a break from my discussions about money and it’s philosophical strengths and it’s abilities to disrupt lives, and we go back to some tangible real statistics.

Stats Canada has released the CPI Numbers for March 2008 and inflation’s growth dropped again year over year to 1.4% . This in theory means that everything you bought last year at this time, now costs 1.4% more than it did then, which is not true, and you should have a look at the tables at the end of this article which goes into far more detail by expenditure type.

This still boggles my imagination, given the price of gas and it’s continued rise (now $1.17 per liter here in Ottawa), but the Canadian dollar’s strength in the world may be buffering this effect.

 

We can see without energy costs included inflation is actually close to 1%, which is amazing, yet, we must also remember that this may change very quickly.

This should mean continued lower interest rates, as inflation is well under control, for now.

Inflation Graphs and Tables

Consumer Price Index and major components
(2002=100)
	Relative importance	March 2008	February 2008	March 2007	February to March 2008	March 2007 to March 2008
		Unadjusted
					% change
All-items	100.002	112.6	112.2	111.1	0.4	1.4
Food	17.04	112.6	112.8	112.2	-0.2	0.4
Shelter	26.62	120.1	119.6	115.4	0.4	4.1
Household operations and furnishings	11.10	104.1	104.1	103.2	0.0	0.9
Clothing and footwear	5.36	96.0	94.1	97.5	2.0	-1.5
Transportation	19.88	117.8	117.0	117.7	0.7	0.1
Health and personal care	4.73	107.9	107.7	106.4	0.2	1.4
Recreation, education and reading	12.20	101.3	100.8	100.9	0.5	0.4
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products	3.07	126.6	126.8	124.1	-0.2	2.0
All-items (1992=100)		134.1	133.6	132.3	0.4	1.4
Special aggregates
Goods	48.78	108.1	107.4	108.8	0.7	-0.6
Services	51.22	117.1	116.9	113.4	0.2	3.3
All-items excluding food and energy	73.57	109.6	109.4	108.5	0.2	1.0
Energy	9.38	143.2	139.4	135.9	2.7	5.4
Core CPI	82.71	110.9	110.7	109.5	0.2	1.3
1. 2005 CPI basket weights at April 2007 prices, Canada : Effective May 2007. Detailed weights are available under the Documentation section of survey 2301 at (www.statcan.gc.ca/english/sdds/index.htm). 2. Figures may not add to 100% due to rounding. 3. The measure of 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 Core CPI, please consult the Bank of Canada website (www.bankofcanada.ca/en/inflation/index.htm).