OTTAWA, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Canadians continued to feel the impact of rising prices in May as consumer inflation rose to 7.7 percent year over year, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday.
This was the largest yearly increase since January 1983 and up from a 6.8 percent gain in April, the national statistical office said, adding that the acceleration in May was largely due to higher prices for gasoline, which rose 12 percent compared with -0.7 percent in April.
According to the agency, excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 6.3 percent year over year in May, after a 5.8 percent increase in April. Price pressures continued to be broad-based, pinching the pocketbooks of Canadians and in some cases affecting their ability to meet day-to-day expenses.
Higher prices for services, such as hotels and restaurants, also contributed to the increase. Food prices and shelter costs remained elevated in May as price growth was unchanged on a year-over-year basis, the agency said.
On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 1.4 percent in May, following a 0.6 percent increase in April. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI was up 1.1 percent, the fastest pace since the introduction of the series in 1992.
Wage data from the Labour Force Survey found that average hourly wages rose 3.9 percent year over year in May, meaning that, on average, prices rose faster than wages in the previous 12 months, said Statistics Canada.
