The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
Canadian consumer price inflation accelerated to a new three-decade high in January, adding to pressure on the Bank of Canada to start raising interest rates as early as March 2.
Annual inflation was 5.1% last month, up from 4.8% in December, Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa. Economists were anticipating inflation would be unchanged in January.
The average of the central bank’s core measures — often seen as a better indicator of underlying price pressures — rose to 3.2%, also the highest since 1991.
The report will reinforce expectations that policymakers, led by Governor Tiff Macklem, will start a rate-hike cycle at the next policy meeting. Markets are pricing in as many as seven increases in borrowing costs over the next 12 months.
The Bank of Canada has held its benchmark at the emergency level of 0.25% since March 2020, soon after the Covid-19 pandemic hit North America.
Inflation has now exceeded the central bank’s 1% to 3% control range for 10 straight months as global supply chain bottlenecks and labour shortages push up prices. Since Canada introduced inflation targeting in the early 1990s, the inflation rate has averaged about 1.8%.