Ottawa: The annual inflation rate cooled to 6.3% in December, following a 6.8% increase in November. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 5.3% on a yearly basis in December, following a gain of 5.4% in November, revealed the Statistics Canada.
The monthly decline in December is the largest since April 2020, mostly driven by gasoline prices, which also posted their largest monthly decline since April 2020.
Consumers paid 13.1% less at the pump in December compared with November, the largest monthly decline since April 2020. This reflected lower prices for crude oil amid concerns of a slowing global economy, as well as reduced demand following an increase in COVID-19 cases in China. On a yearly basis, prices for gasoline rose 3.0% in December after a 13.7% increase in November.
Similarly, growth in prices for durable goods slowed to 4.7% year over year in December after a 5.3% increase in November, with prices decelerating for the third consecutive month.
Prices for personal care supplies and equipment grew 9.9% year over year in December, the largest increase since February 1983