CPI rose 1.6% in December, StatsCan reveals

The 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the CPI excluding gasoline.

Statistics Canada says the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.6% in the 12 months to December, after increasing 1.4% in November.

Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 1.9% year-over-year in December, matching the increase in November.

Prices were up in all eight major components on a year-over-year basis in December, with the transportation index, which includes gasoline, registering its first year-over-year increase since October 2014.

The transportation index was up 0.6% on a year-over-year basis in December, after recording 13 consecutive year-over-year declines. This turnaround was mainly attributable to the gasoline index, which recorded a smaller year-over-year decrease in December (-4.8%) than in November (-10.6%). In addition, the purchase of passenger vehicles index rose 3.1% year over year in December, following a 1.9% increase the previous month.

The food and shelter indexes contributed the most to the rise in the CPI.

Consumers paid 3.7% more for food in December compared with the same month a year earlier. Prices for food purchased from stores were up 4.1% year over year in December, following a 3.7% increase the previous month. The acceleration was mainly attributable to the fresh vegetables and fresh fruit indexes, which rose more on a year-over-year basis in December than in the previous month. In contrast, the meat index increased less in the 12 months to December (+2.4%) than in November (+3.9%). Prices for food purchased from restaurants rose 2.8% year over year in December, matching the increase in November.

The clothing and footwear index was up 0.7% year over year in December, after rising 2.1% in November. The men’s clothing index registered a smaller year-over-year increase in December than in November, while prices for women’s clothing declined in the 12 months to December, after increasing in November.

Consumer prices rose in all provinces in the 12 months to December, with British Columbia posting the largest gain. In the Prairie provinces, consumer prices were up less on a year-over-year basis in December than in November.

The CPI in British Columbia was up 1.9% year over year in December, after increasing 1.7% in November. This acceleration was led by the gasoline index, which posted its first year-over-year gain (+4.4%) since June 2014. The traveller accommodation index was also up more on a year-over-year basis in December (+9.6%) than in November (+8.4%).

In Ontario, the CPI rose 1.7% on a year-over-year basis in December, the largest gain since December 2014. Electricity prices increased 8.9% in December compared with the same month a year earlier, partly as a result of new winter electricity prices introduced in November 2015. In addition, the purchase of passenger vehicles index was up 2.8% year over year in December, after increasing 1.3% the previous month.

The CPI in Alberta was up 1.5% in the 12 months to December, after increasing 2.0% in November. This deceleration was mainly attributable to the natural gas index, which was down more on a year-over-year basis in December (-14.5%) than in November (-8.0%).

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI increased 0.1% in December, after rising 0.2% in November.