Canadian consumer inflation slowing, gasoline prices falling

In Canada, the inflation rate at the beginning of the year was slightly lower than expected, slowing to 2.3% as gasoline costs dropped significantly, while economists had previously expected the inflation rate to stabilize at 2.4%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices remained steady, in contrast to the expected slight increase of 0.1%. Trimmed and median inflation indicators also slowed down, averaging 2.45% year-on-year in January, the lowest level since December 2024. Compared to a year ago, the inflation rate appeared to be higher for the second consecutive month, when the federal government had temporarily suspended sales tax on certain goods. The CPI excluding indirect taxes decreased from 2.5% in the previous month to 2.1% in January.