Consumer Price Index, April 2013

Released: 2013-05-17

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4% in the 12 months to April, following a 1.0% increase in March. Declining gasoline prices were largely responsible for the 0.6 percentage point difference in the 12-month change in the CPI. Price decreases for the purchase of passenger vehicles were also a factor.

Chart 1 
The 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the CPI excluding gasoline

Gasoline prices decreased 6.0% on a year-over-year basis in April, after falling 0.3% in March. The decrease in April was the largest year-over-year decline in gasoline prices since October 2009.

Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 0.8% in the 12 months to April, following a 1.1% increase in March.

Chart 2 
The 12-month change in the gasoline index

12-month change in the major components

The shelter and food components were the main upward contributors to the rise in the CPI, while the transportation component was the main downward contributor.

Chart 3 
Consumers paid more for shelter and food, and less for transportation

Shelter costs increased 1.3% in the 12 months to April, following a 1.1% rise in March. Electricity prices and rent advanced year over year, while mortgage interest cost decreased 4.3%.

Food prices increased 1.5% on a year-over-year basis in April, after increasing 1.8% in March. Consumers paid more for food purchased from stores, as prices for meat rose 3.2%. In contrast, prices for sugar and confectionery declined 2.8%.

Consumers paid 1.2% more for food purchased from restaurants in the 12 months to April, following a 2.2% increase in March. The smaller increase in April compared with March was largely attributable to price declines in British Columbia.

Transportation costs declined 2.1% in the 12 months to April, after posting no change the previous month. In addition to price decreases for gasoline, prices for the purchase of passenger vehicles declined 0.7% year over year in April, after rising 0.8% in March.

12-month change in the provinces

Consumer prices rose in eight provinces in the 12 months to April. The exceptions were New Brunswick and British Columbia, where consumer prices declined. The largest increases were registered in Prince Edward Island and Manitoba.

Chart 4 
Consumer prices increase the most in Prince Edward Island and Manitoba, and decrease the most in British Columbia

The decline in gasoline prices was a factor in the year-over-year change in all provincial CPIs. The largest gasoline price decreases were posted in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia (both -9.3%), while the smallest were recorded in Manitoba (-0.4%) and Prince Edward Island (-2.7%).

On April 1, 2013, the Harmonized Sales Tax came into effect in Prince Edward Island, while British Columbia returned to the Provincial Sales Tax and the Goods and Services Tax.

In Prince Edward Island, consumer prices rose 1.8% in the 12 months to April, after registering a 1.2% advance in March. Prince Edward Island posted the largest year-over-year price increase among the provinces for clothing.

Prices in British Columbia fell 0.8% in the 12 months to April, after rising 0.5% in March. Consumers paid 4.3% less for food purchased from restaurants.

Consumer prices in Manitoba rose 1.8% on a year-over-year basis in April, following a 2.3% increase in March. Manitoba had the smallest year-over-year decrease in gasoline prices among the provinces.

In New Brunswick, consumer prices decreased 0.2% year over year in April, following a 0.8% increase the previous month. Gasoline prices fell 8.6% year over year in April. In addition, prices for clothing decreased 2.8% in the 12 months to April, after increasing 4.4% in March.

Seasonally adjusted monthly CPI decreases

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI decreased 0.4% in April, after posting no change in March. The decrease in April was the largest decline since October 2008.

Chart 5 
Seasonally adjusted monthly Consumer Price Index

Of the eight major components, five posted decreases in April. The seasonally adjusted index for transportation decreased 1.1% in April, following a 1.5% decrease in March. The food index decreased 0.4% in April, while the shelter index increased 0.2%.

Bank of Canada's core index

The Bank of Canada's core index rose 1.1% in the 12 months to April, following a 1.4% increase in March.

On a monthly basis, the seasonally adjusted core index posted no change in April, after rising 0.2% in March.

For a more detailed analysis, consult the publication The Consumer Price Index. The April 2013 issue of The Consumer Price Index, Vol. 92, no. 4 (Catalogue number62-001-X), is now available from the Browse by key resource module of our website under Publications.

More information about the concepts and use of the Consumer Price Index are also available online in Your Guide to the Consumer Price Index (Catalogue number62-557-X) from the Browse by key resource module of our website under Publications.

The Consumer Price Index for May will be released on June 21.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@canada.ca).