Canada's annual inflation up to 4.7% in October

Ottawa, Nov 18 (IANS) Canada's annual inflation rose to 4.7 per cent in October 2021 from 4.4 per cent in September, according to Statistics Canada.

It was the largest year-over-year rise since February 2003 because of snarls in supply chains, bumps in prices at the pump and comparisons to lows seen in 2020.

All eight components that the data agency tracks were higher, but the increase was led by higher transportation costs, which went up by more than 10 per cent in 2020, Xinhua news agency reported.

The increase in consumer prices for transportation was primarily driven by a 25.5 per cent rise in energy prices.

The gasoline prices rose 41.7 per cent in the country in October compared with the same month of 2020. Excluding energy prices, the consumer price index (CPI) was up 3.3 per cent in September compared with October 2020.

Food prices continued to creep higher, too. Meat prices rose by almost 10 per cent, on average, with bacon, in particular, going up at more than twice that rate.

October's inflation marked a new pandemic-era high for the CPI, which came in above the Bank of Canada's target range of between one and three per cent for the seventh consecutive month.