The inflation rate slowed in Canada in July 2022 to 7.6% year over year. This is down from the 8.1% increase seen a month earlier, according to the latest Statistics Canada data released on Tuesday.
• Read also: Savings of $2,000 per year if you choose your grocery store well
According to Statistics Canada, the “deceleration” in the consumer price index (CPI) is attributable to the slowdown in the growth of gasoline prices.
Excluding gasoline, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 6.6% year over year in July, beating the 6.5% increase recorded in June.
Between June and July, the CPI rose by 0.1%, a seventh consecutive monthly increase.
“While consumer inflation continued to outpace wage growth, the purchasing power gap was smaller than in June,” Statistics Canada said.
The price of gasoline is rising more slowly
Year over year, Canadians paid 35.6% more for gasoline in July, following paying 54.6% more in June. Thus, consumers paid 9.2% less for gas in July compared to the previous month. According to Statistics Canada, this is the largest monthly decline since April 2020.
“Continued concerns regarding the global economic slowdown, along with increased public health restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in China and slowing gasoline demand in the United States have led to lower demand world of crude oil, which exerted downward pressure on prices at the pump,” the federal agency said.
Gasoline prices fell the most in Ontario (-12.2%), in particular due to the Ford government’s temporary gas tax reduction.
In Quebec, the CPI rose 7.3% year over year in July. On a monthly basis, it fell by 0.1% between June and July.
It is the residents of Prince Edward Island who have to deal with the worst inflation rate in the country, which reached 9.5% over one year, followed by Manitoba (8.8%), Nova Scotia (8.7%), Saskatchewan (8.1%) and New Brunswick (8%).
