Canada’s annual inflation rate rose again in December to hit a 30 -year high, driven by higher prices for food, vehicles and shelter based on data released on Wednesday.
Inflation was reported to increase to 4.8%, in line with market expectations and up from the November reading of 4.7%. According to a report by the Canadian Department of Statistics, it is the ninth consecutive month that key inflation has surpassed the central bank's target range of 1%-3%.
These inflation data readings could boost expectations that the central bank will start raising interest rates next week, despite uncertainty about the impact of the Omicron Covid-19 variant.
The usual measure of CPI, which the central bank says is the best measure for measuring poor economic performance, rose to 2.1% from 2.0% in November. The last time it hit 2.1% was in February 2012. The median CPI increased to 3.0% and the respective CPI reductions increased to 3.7%.
The Canadian currency hit a six -day high of 1.2451 against the US dollar. The next focus of Canadian investors is on Canadian retail sales data.
