Canadian CPI rose 1.2% on a year-over-year basis

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.2% on a year-over-year basis in July, following a 1.0% gain in June.

Prices were up in six of the eight major components in the 12 months to July, with the transportation and shelter indexes contributing the most to the year-over-year rise in the CPI. The household operations, furnishings and equipment index and the clothing and footwear index declined on a year-over-year basis.

Transportation costs rose 1.9% on a year-over-year basis in July, following a 0.6% increase in June. Gasoline prices contributed most to the gain in prices, as well as to their acceleration, rising 4.6% in the 12 months to July, after posting a 1.4% decline in June. The purchase of passenger vehicles index increased 0.2% year over year in July, after declining 0.2% the previous month. At the same time, passenger vehicle insurance premiums rose at a slower rate in the 12 months to July than they did in June.

The shelter index increased 1.3% year over year in July, after rising 1.6% in June. Homeowners' replacement costs contributed the most to the gain in prices, rising 4.1% in the 12 months to July. Prices for natural gas (+9.7%) increased at a slower year-over-year rate than they did in June. Meanwhile, the electricity index recorded its largest decrease since April 2003, down 9.1% year over year in July, following a 5.3% decline in June. The decline at the national level largely reflected legislated price declines in Ontario.

Consumer prices for food rose 0.6% on a year-over-year basis in July, matching the gain in June.