Consumer Price Index, August 2024
Released: 2024-09-17
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.0% on a year-over-year basis in August, increasing at the slowest pace since February 2021, and down from a 2.5% gain in July 2024.
The deceleration in headline inflation in August was due, in part, to lower prices for gasoline, due to a combination of lower prices and a base-year effect. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 2.2% in August, down from 2.5% in July.
Mortgage interest cost and rent remained the largest contributors to the increase in the CPI in August.
On a monthly basis, the CPI fell 0.2% in August, after a 0.4% increase in July. The monthly decline was led by lower prices for air transportation, gasoline, clothing and footwear and travel tours. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1% in August.
Chart 1
12-month change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and CPI excluding gasoline
Chart 2
Five major components contribute to decelerating all-items Consumer Price Index in August
Gasoline prices contribute the most to slowdown in all-items Consumer Price Index
Year over year, prices at the pump fell 5.1% in August following a 1.9% increase in July. This was due to a combination of a base-year effect and current events, with prices, on a month-over-month basis, rising 4.6% in August 2023 and falling 2.6% in August 2024, the third monthly decrease in four months. The decline in August 2024 was mainly due to lower crude oil prices amid economic concerns in the United States and slowing demand in China.
Chart 3
Prices for gasoline decline month over month
Growth in mortgage interest costs continues to slow
The mortgage interest cost index continued to rise at a slower pace year over year in August (+18.8%), for the 12th consecutive month, after peaking in August 2023 (+30.9%).
Despite slowing price growth, mortgage interest cost has remained the largest contributor to the all-items increase since December 2022. Excluding mortgage interest cost, the CPI rose 1.2% year over year in August 2024.
Lower prices for clothing and footwear in August
Prices for clothing and footwear declined 0.6% on a month-over-month basis in August. A drop in prices in the month of August has not been observed since 1971, as this month is typically associated with back-to-school clothes shopping, with stronger demand putting upward pressure on prices. Compared with August 2023, retailers offered more and larger discounts in August 2024 to entice consumer spending amid recent slowing demand.
Year over year, clothing and footwear prices fell for an eighth consecutive month, down 4.4% in August following a 2.7% decline in July.
Infographic 1
Monthly decline in August leads to year-over-year deceleration in prices for clothing and footwear
Prices for groceries accelerate due to base-year effect
On a year-over-year basis, consumers paid 2.4% more for food purchased from stores in August after a 2.1% increase in July. This was the result of a base-year effect, notably coming from prices for dairy products (+3.3%) and fresh fruit (+1.5%).
Despite this, grocery prices decreased on a month-over-month basis in August (-0.2%), largely due to a seasonally typical decline in prices for fresh vegetables (-2.8%).
Explore the Consumer Price Index tools
Check out Statistics Canada's Food Price Data Hub, which features a variety of food price related statistics, articles and tools.
Check out the Personal Inflation Calculator. This interactive calculator allows you to enter dollar amounts in the common expense categories to produce a personalized inflation rate, which you can compare to the official measure of inflation for the average Canadian household—the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Browse the Consumer Price Index Data Visualization Tool to access current (Latest Snapshot of the CPI) and historical (Price trends: 1914 to today) CPI data in a customizable visual format.
Visit the Consumer Price Index portal to find all CPI data, publications, interactive tools, and announcements highlighting new products and upcoming changes to the CPI in one convenient location.
Regional highlights
Year over year, prices rose at a slower pace in August compared with July in all provinces.
Chart 4
The Consumer Price Index rises at a slower pace in all provinces
Electricity prices fall at a faster pace despite monthly increase
At the national level, prices for electricity fell at a faster pace year over year in August (-1.7%) compared with July (-0.8%). The larger decline was due to a base-year effect in electricity prices in Alberta, following high summer demand in August 2023.
In contrast, on a month-over-month basis, prices rose in August 2024 in Alberta (+3.5%) as a result of higher regulated rates, and in Newfoundland and Labrador (+6.6%) due to approved rate increases.
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Note to readers
New approach to estimating the cellular services price index
With this release, the cellular services price index is now calculated using an enhanced methodology and new data sources. For more information, please consult the technical paper, "Updated Methodology for the Compilation of the Cellular Services Price Index" describing the new approach.
Real-time data tables
Real-time data table 18-10-0259-01 will be updated on October 1. For more information, consult the document, "Real-time data tables."
Next release
The Consumer Price Index for September will be released on October 15.
Products
The "Consumer Price Index Data Visualization Tool" is available on the Statistics Canada website.
More information on the concepts and use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is available in The Canadian Consumer Price Index Reference Paper (62-553-X).
For information on the history of the CPI in Canada, consult the publication Exploring the first century of Canada's Consumer Price Index (62-604-X).
Two videos, "An Overview of Canada's Consumer Price Index (CPI)" and "The Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Your Experience of Price Change," are available on Statistics Canada's YouTube channel.
The podcast ''Eh Sayers Episode 18 - Why Food Inflation Is Such A Hard Nut To Crack'' is also available.
Find out answers to the most common questions posed about the CPI in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
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; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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