Canada’s inflation slows to 7.6 per cent in July, driven by decline in gas prices

Statistics Canada says the year-over-year inflation rate slowed to 7.6 per cent in July as economists widely expected the pace of price increases to slow that month.

The inflation rate hit a nearly 40-year-high of 8.1 per cent in June, but since then, gas prices have declined significantly.

In its latest consumer price index report, the federal agency says the rise in prices in July marked the smallest monthly gains since December 2021.

But while gas prices declined, food prices rose at the fastest pace since August 1981, with prices up by almost 10 per cent since a year ago.

As mortgage costs go up with higher interest rates, the report notes rent prices are accelerating, rising faster in July than the previous month.

The Bank of Canada is paying attention to this latest reading of inflation as it gears up to make its next key interest rate on Sept. 7, when it’s expected to raise borrowing rates again.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2022.