Analysis

View the most recent version.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.1% in the 12 months to August, mainly as a result of higher prices for gasoline and food purchased from stores. This follows increases of 2.7% in July and 3.1% in June. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.3% in August.

The 0.4 percentage point difference between the year-over-year increases posted in August and July was mainly the result of price increases for the purchase of passenger vehicles, electricity, homeowners' home and mortgage insurance, telephone services and jewellery.

Energy prices rose 13.4% during the 12 months to August, following a 12.9% increase in July. Gasoline prices went up 22.8%, compared with the 23.5% increase in July. Prices for fuel oil and electricity also rose, while natural gas prices fell.

Food prices went up 4.4% in August, following a 4.3% increase in the previous month. Consumers paid 5.0% more for food purchased from stores and 2.7% more for food purchased from restaurants.

Food and energy prices rose 7.2% in August, following a 7.1% increase in July. Excluding food and energy, the CPI increased 1.5% in August after advancing 1.2% in the previous month.

12-month change: Prices increase at a faster rate in five of the eight major components

On a year-over-year basis, prices increased in all eight major components of the CPI in August. Except for health and personal care, clothing and footwear, as well as recreation, education and reading, prices rose at a faster rate in August than in July.

The cost of transportation increased 7.0% in the 12 months to August, following a 6.5% gain in July. Consumers paid more for gasoline, passenger vehicle insurance premiums and air transportation.

Food prices rose 4.4% in the 12 months to August, after increasing 4.3% in July. There were broad-based price increases for food purchased from stores. Consumers paid more for bakery and cereal products (+6.1%), for meat (+5.7%) and for dairy products and eggs (+3.4%). They also paid more for fresh vegetables and fresh fruit.

Shelter costs rose 1.8% in the 12 months to August, following a 1.3% increase in the previous month. In addition to paying more for fuel oil, consumers also paid more for homeowners' home and mortgage insurance, homeowners' replacement cost, and electricity. However, mortgage interest cost decreased.

Provinces: Prices increase at a faster rate in eight provinces

On a year-over-year basis, gasoline and food purchased from stores continued to be the major contributing factors to the increase in consumer prices in all provinces. For the second consecutive month, New Brunswick posted the largest increase in consumer prices and British Columbia the smallest.

In Ontario, consumer prices rose 3.1% in the 12 months to August, after rising 3.0% in July. Gasoline prices rose 25.4%. Prices for passenger vehicle insurance premiums and homeowners' replacement cost also went up. Prices for electricity fell.

Consumer prices in Quebec went up 3.4% in August, following a 3.3% gain in July. On a year-over-year basis, gasoline prices rose 27.1% in the province. Consumers also paid more for fuel oil and for food purchased from restaurants.

Prices increased 2.1% in British Columbia, following a 1.7% increase in July. Drivers in the province paid 12.3% more for gasoline. Homeowners' home and mortgage insurance and food purchased from restaurants also went up.

In Alberta, consumer prices advanced 2.9%, after rising 1.9% in July. In addition to paying 19.5% more for gasoline, consumers in Alberta paid 33.8% more for electricity. They also paid more for homeowners' home and mortgage insurance and for natural gas.

Non-seasonally adjusted monthly CPI advances in five of the eight major components

Consumer prices, before seasonal adjustment, rose 0.3% from July to August, following a 0.2% increase the month before. On a monthly basis, prices advanced in five of the eight major components. The shelter index was the major factor in the monthly increase. The clothing and footwear index reported the largest monthly increase, while the recreation, education and reading index decreased the most. The food index went down slightly.

The shelter index rose 0.2% in August, after increasing 0.4% in July. The rise was mostly the result of a 2.1% increase in electricity prices. In Alberta, electricity prices went up 17.0% from July to August.

Prices for clothing and footwear rose 1.0% in August, after decreasing 0.8% in July. Higher prices for jewellery were the main factor in the increase. In contrast, prices for children's clothing fell 5.5% in August.

Transportation costs increased 0.2% in August, after falling 0.4% in July. The cost of purchasing passenger vehicles rose 1.3% in August, after declining 0.3% the previous month. Prices for gasoline went down 0.8% from July to August, after decreasing 0.5 % in July and 3.7% in June.

Prices for recreation, education and reading went down 0.4% in August, after increasing 0.8% in July. Prices for traveller accommodation fell 1.2% in August, after increasing 8.0% in July. The video and audio equipment indexes also fell in August.

Food prices decreased 0.1% in August, after increasing 0.5% in July. Prices for food purchased from stores fell 0.4% in August, following a 0.8% increase in the month before. Conversely, prices for food purchased from restaurants rose 0.5% in August, after rising 0.1% in July.

The household operations, furnishings and equipment index increased 0.5% from July to August, mainly on the strength of a 1.8% increase in telephone services.

The health and personal care index increased 0.7% in August, after falling 0.2% in July.

Consumer prices, before seasonal adjustment, increased in all provinces from July to August. The largest month-over-month increases (+0.5%) were observed in Alberta and Prince Edward Island. Ontario and Manitoba recorded the smallest increase with a 0.1% change in consumer prices.

Seasonally adjusted monthly CPI advances

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.3% from July to August, following a 0.1% increase from June to July. The transportation index, which includes the purchase of passenger vehicles, rose 0.8% following a 0.1% increase in the previous month. The food index went up 0.3%, after advancing 0.5% in July.

The seasonally adjusted shelter index rose 0.2% from July to August, while the household operations, furnishings and equipment index increased 0.4%. Conversely, the recreation, education and reading index as well as the clothing and footwear index decreased 0.2%.

Bank of Canada's core index

The Bank of Canada's core index rose 1.9% in the 12 months to August, following a 1.6% gain in July. The higher increase in August was primarily a result of a rise in prices for passenger vehicle insurance premiums, food purchased from restaurants as well as bakery and cereal products.

On a month-over-month basis and before seasonal adjustment, the core index went up 0.4% in August, after increasing 0.2% in July.

The seasonally adjusted monthly core index advanced 0.3% in August, matching the increase in July.