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Canajun Finances Home » April’s CPI Child is Still Inflating (in Canada)

April’s CPI Child is Still Inflating (in Canada)

Our friends at Stats Canada came out with the April CPI numbers on Friday (just before the long weekend), and while it isn’t much different from March’s numbers it still reflects an upward trend (only 0.1% to a year over year rate of 2.0%).

Surprisingly the good news is that Energy is actually slowing down (in fact Natural Gas prices are falling drastically), witness:

Consumer prices rose 2.0% in the 12 months to April, led by increases in transportation costs. This increase followed a 1.9% rise in March.

Energy prices increased 1.1% in the 12 months to April, following a 5.1% rise in March. The slower increase in April was largely attributable to smaller price gains for gasoline and electricity, as well as price declines for natural gas (-13.9%).

NOW I choose to replace my natural gas clothes dryer with an electric one?!?! Oh well, another not great choice on my part, but not to worry.

While the following graphic seems to imply that inflation is slowing, that can be deceptive as well, given that energy costs and Gasoline are all over the place these days.

 

Inflation for Past Little While
Inflation Past Little While

What do I mean by that odd comment, have a look at the following Gasoline Index Graphic, to see how that price has been changing, you might get a better understanding about my comments:

Gasoline Index Past Little While

It has been a lot more expensive to travel the past little while, this graph seems to suggest it is not just my own opinion.

Bank of Canada’s core index

The Bank of Canada’s core index rose 2.1% in the 12 months to April, led by price increases for the purchase of passenger vehicles. This increase followed a 1.9% gain in the core index in March.

On a monthly basis, the seasonally adjusted core index increased 0.4% in April, after rising 0.1% the previous month.

Not very high, but not low either, kind of in the “we are ok with that rate for now” range for the central bank.

The Big Table

Where were the biggest jumps? Have a look at the big table and see!

Consumer Price Index and major components, Canada – Not seasonally adjusted

Relative import1 April 2011 March 2012 April 2012 March
to
April 2012
April 2011
to April 2012
% (2002=100) % change
All-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) 100.002 119.8 121.7 122.2 0.4 2.0
Food 15.99 126.9 130.0 130.1 0.1 2.5
Shelter 27.49 125.2 126.6 126.6 0.0 1.1
Household operations, furnishings and equipment 11.55 109.8 112.7 112.6 -0.1 2.6
Clothing and footwear 5.31 93.1 94.8 95.3 0.5 2.4
Transportation 20.60 127.2 129.5 131.3 1.4 3.2
Health and personal care 4.95 117.3 118.3 118.9 0.5 1.4
Recreation, education and reading 11.20 105.1 104.9 105.4 0.5 0.3
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products 2.91 135.0 137.5 137.7 0.1 2.0
Special aggregates
Core CPI3 82.15 117.2 119.2 119.7 0.4 2.1
All-items CPI excluding energy 89.92 116.7 118.7 119.1 0.3 2.1
Energy4 10.08 159.2 159.5 161.0 0.9 1.1
Gasoline 5.80 186.8 187.0 192.9 3.2 3.3
All-items CPI excluding food and energy 73.93 114.4 116.1 116.6 0.4 1.9
Goods 47.80 113.7 114.8 115.3 0.4 1.4
Services 52.20 125.9 128.6 129.1 0.4 2.5
1. 2009 CPI basket weights at April 2011 prices, Canada, effective May 2011. Detailed weights are available under the Documentation section of survey 2301 (www.statcan.gc.ca/imdb-bmdi/index-eng.htm).
2. Figures may not add to 100% as a result of rounding.
3. The Bank of Canada’s core index excludes eight of the Consumer Price Index’s most volatile components (fruit, fruit preparations and nuts; vegetables and vegetable preparations; mortgage interest cost; natural gas; fuel oil and other fuels; gasoline; inter-city transportation; and tobacco products and smokers’ supplies) as well as the effects of changes in indirect taxes on the remaining components. For additional information on the core CPI, please consult the Bank of Canada website (www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/price-indexes/cpi).
4. The special aggregate “Energy” includes: electricity; natural gas; fuel oil and other fuels; gasoline; and fuel, parts and supplies for recreational vehicles.

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