The cost of living continues to rise at the fastest pace in decades, with Canada’s official inflation rate rising by 6.8% year on year in April, a new 31-year high.
Statistics Canada said on Wednesday that the cost of living has risen mainly due to rising food and shelter costs. Food prices have risen 9.7 percent in the past year, while shelter costs have risen 7.4 percent.
Gas prices, although still higher than a year ago, are falling over the month.
Economists expected inflation to fall slightly from 6.7% in March, but instead rose slightly. This is a worrying sign that inflation has not yet peaked, although it is at its highest level since 1991.
The United States has also seen a sharp rise in inflation in recent months, but figures for April suggest the wave may have reached there, with the official figure falling to 8.3% in April from 8.5% in March.
“Core inflation has been accelerating in Canada for several months, unlike the United States,” said economist Royce Mendes of financial services conglomerate Desjardins. “What has risen is not yet declining in Canadian inflation, and perhaps not soon.
High inflation makes the Bank of Canada even more likely to raise its key interest rate at its next policy meeting in early June
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