Canadian inflation increases slower than expected. USD/CAD up 70 pips so far

• The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.3% on a year-over-year basis in September, following a 1.1% gain in August.

• Excluding gasoline, the CPI was up 1.5% year over year in September, after posting a 1.7% increase in August.

Prices were up in all eight major components in the 12 months to September, with the shelter and transportation indexes contributing the most to the year-over-year rise in the CPI. The food index posted its smallest year-over-year gain since February 2000.

The transportation index rose 2.3% in the 12 months to September, following a 0.3% gain in August. Gasoline prices posted a smaller year-over-year decrease in September (-3.2%) than in August (-11.5%). On a monthly basis, gasoline prices were up 0.8% in September, while they fell 7.9% in the same month in 2015. On a year-over-year basis, the purchase of passenger vehicles index increased 5.8% in September, after posting a 5.2% gain in August.

The clothing and footwear index rose 0.1% on a year-over-year basis in September, following a 0.4% decline in August. This turnaround was partly attributable to increases in the men's clothing index and the women's clothing index in the 12 months to September. Both indexes had declined in the previous month. For the fifth consecutive month, shoppers paid less for children's clothing on a year-over-year basis.

Food prices were up 0.1% year over year in September, after rising 1.1% in August. Prices for food purchased from stores recorded their first year-over-year decline since March 2008, down 0.9% in the 12 months to September. As a result of the decrease in September, food prices in stores returned to a level last recorded in January 2015.