Huge rise for Canadian CPI in January

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.1% on a year-over-year basis in January, following a 1.5% gain in December.

Excluding gasoline, the CPI was up 1.5% year over year in January, after posting a 1.4% increase in December.

Prices were up in seven of the eight major components in the 12 months to January, with the transportation and shelter indexes contributing the most to the year-over-year rise in the CPI. The food index declined on a year-over-year basis for the fourth consecutive month.

The transportation index rose on a year-over-year basis, up 6.3% in January after a 3.0% gain in December. The gain in January was led by gasoline prices, which posted their largest increase since September 2011, up 20.6% in the 12 months to January. The increase was partly attributable to higher crude oil prices in January, as well as a monthly decline one year earlier. On a year-over-year basis, the purchase of passenger vehicles index rose more in January (+3.8%) than in December (+2.6%). This acceleration was partly attributable to the greater availability of new 2017-model-year vehicles.