The Consumer Price Index rose 3 percent on a year-over-year basis in July, following a 2.5 percent increase in June, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
All eight major components rose year over year in July. The transportation index (+8.1 percent) was the largest contributor to the year-over-year increase.
Energy costs were 14.2 percent higher compared with July 2017, after increasing 12.4 percent year over year in June. Consumer prices for gasoline (+25.4 percent) and fuel oil and other fuels (+28.1 percent) continued to increase on a year-over-year basis, amid rising global prices for crude oil following recent supply disruptions.
Consumer prices for transportation rose 8.1 percent in July, following a 6.6 percent increase in June. In addition to gasoline, the purchase of passenger vehicles index rose more on a year-over-year basis in July (+2 percent) than it did in June (+1.8 percent). Prices for passenger vehicle insurance premiums were 3.5 percent higher compared with July 2017, following rate increases in several provinces.
Year-over-year gains in the price of services were higher in July (+3.2 percent) than in June (+2.2 percent). Month-over-month increases in the air transportation index (+16.4 percent) and the travel tours index (+13.9 percent) reflected higher prices during peak travel season. Prices for telephone services increased 2.2 percent on a month-over-month basis following declines in May and June, when a series of industry-wide price promotions took place. Recent interest rate increases continued to impact the mortgage interest cost index, which rose 5.2 percent in the 12 months to July