OTTAWA, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Consumer prices rose 2.4 percent on an annual basis in Canada in October, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.
The increase in the cost of living followed a 1.9 rise in September and a 1.7 percent increase in August, the agency said.
Energy prices were behind much of the increase. Gasoline prices were 8.8 percent higher than the same month a year ago after a 3.1 percent rise in September.
Excluding gasoline, consumer prices rose 2.1 percent from a year ago. In September, excluding gasoline, prices rose 1.8 percent.
Statistics Canada said food prices rose 2.2 percent in October on an annual basis. The price of household operations -- furniture and goods such as lawn mowers -- rose 1.3 percent. The price index for healthcare rose 2.7 percent, while the price of child care fell.
