The Canadian CPI report is slightly lagging, but highlights a slowdown in inflation.

The inflation data for February in Canada is slightly outdated, as gasoline prices are expected to increase by 15% month-on-month in March after the conflict between the US-Israel and Iran erupted on February 28th. Canada's CPI report shows that gasoline prices fell by 14% year-on-year in February. However, Douglas Porter, Chief Economist at BMO Capital Markets, said that the important message conveyed by this CPI data is that basic inflation "has indeed fallen back nicely at the start of this year." He stated that most core inflation indicators are close to the Bank of Canada's 2% target. Porter added that this will allow Governor Tiff Macklem and others to "overlook" the energy price shocks that will push up overall inflation in the coming months.