OTTAWA, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Canada rose 7.6 percent on a year-over-year basis in July, down from an 8.1 percent gain in June, Statistics Canada announced Tuesday.
The deceleration was a result of slower year-over-year growth in gasoline prices, the national statistical agency said, adding that excluding gasoline, prices rose 6.6 percent year over year in July against a 6.5 percent increase in June, as upward pressure on prices remained broad-based.
Gasoline prices rose 35.6 percent year over year in July after a 54.6 percent increase in June. Consumers paid 9.2 percent less for gasoline in July compared with the previous month, the largest monthly decline since April 2020, the agency said.
On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1 percent in July, the seventh consecutive monthly increase. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI was up 0.3 percent. Both of these gains were the smallest, respectively, since December 2021, the agency said.
According to the agency, while gasoline prices declined on a monthly basis in July, prices for other non-durable goods like natural gas and groceries rose. Price increases for in-person services such as flights, restaurant meals and hotel stays contributed to the month-over-month increase.
On average, price increases continued to exceed the year-over-year increase in hourly wages which registered at 5.2 percent in July. While consumer inflation continued to exceed wage growth, the gap in purchasing power was smaller than in June, Statistics Canada said.
