Canada Inflation Picks Up in May, Rising 2.9%

By Robb M. Stewart

OTTAWA--Canada's annual inflation rate unexpectedly accelerated last month as rent and mortgage-interest costs remained elevated and consumers paid more for services including travel tours and flights.

The country's consumer price index in May rose 2.9% from a year earlier, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. The market was expecting the index to cool to 2.6% for the month, according to economists at TD Securities, after the pace of inflation eased to 2.7% in April.

On a month-over-month basis, prices rose 0.6%, faster than the consensus forecast for an advance of 0.3% in May. On a seasonally adjusted basis, CPI was up 0.3% from the previous month.

Meanwhile, the average of the Bank of Canada's preferred trimmed mean and weighted median measures for underlying inflation picked up to 2.85% on-year in May from 2.70% the month before.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 25, 2024 08:54 ET (12:54 GMT)

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