Business

StatsCan reports annual pace of inflation held steady at 1.9% in October

Statistics Canada says the annual pace of inflation held steady in October as the consumer price index rose 1.9 per cent compared with a year ago, matching its moves in August and September.

The overall rise in prices came as fresh fruit prices rose 7.9% and fresh vegetable prices climbed 7.5%

The annual pace of inflation held steady in October. The CPI rose to 1.9 per cent compared to a year ago driven by the rise of fresh fruit and vegetable prices. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)

Statistics Canada says the annual pace of inflation held steady in October as the consumer price index rose 1.9 per cent compared with a year ago, matching its moves in August and September.

The result was also in line with the expectations of economists, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

The overall rise in prices came as fresh fruit prices rose 7.9 per cent compared with a year ago and fresh vegetable prices climbed 7.5 per cent.

Compared with a year ago, the price of gasoline was down 6.7 per cent, however natural gas prices rose 3.3 per cent.

Excluding gasoline, the annual pace of inflation was 2.3 per cent in October, down from 2.4 per cent in September.

The average of Canada's three measures for core inflation, which are considered better gauges of underlying price pressures, was 2.07 per cent compared with a revised figure of 2.03 per cent in September.