‘The fact that core (inflation) remains so muted is a fairly strong argument in favor of not following any lead by the Fed in the immediate future.’ — Doug Porter, BMO Capital Markets
Canadian consumer prices rose less than expected last month, official figures showed on Friday. Statistics Canada reported that its CPI advanced 0.4% in April, following the preceding month’s gain of 0.2% and falling behind expectations for an increase of 0.5%. Meanwhile, the so-called core inflation rate came in at 0.0% last month, compared to a 0.3% climb in March. On an annual basis, headline inflation rose 1.6%, unchanged from March’s figure and missing forecasts for a 1.7% gain. Meanwhile, other measures of inflation, the Common CPI, the Median CPI and the Trimmed CPI came in at 1.3%, 1.6% and 1.3%, respectively, year-over-year in April. Prices were up in six out of the eight components, with gasoline prices posting the largest gain of 15.9% on an annual basis. Other data showed that retail sales climbed 0.7% in March, compared to the prior month’s upwardly revised fall of 0.4% and surpassing expectations for a 0.4% increase. However, excluding volatile items, core retail sales fell 0.2%, whereas analysts anticipated a climb of 0.2% in the reported month after a 0.1% drop in February.
