OTTAWA, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Canada's inflation was a bit less than expected in January at 2.3 percent over a year earlier, the government reported Friday.
Statistics Canada said much of the consumer price increase was attributed to gasoline and taxes, and core inflation, which discounts energy and some foods, was only 1.4 percent, the Financial Post reported. The figures were slightly below economists' predictions.
Prices in the energy sector rose 9 percent from January 2010, gasoline prices were up 13 percent and electricity 6.4 percent.
Provincial inflation rates ranged from 3 percent in Nova Scotia and 2.9 in Ontario down to 1 percent in Alberta. British Columbia recorded 2.2 percent and Quebec 2.1.
The Bank of Canada has been aiming for annual inflation of about 2 percent, but the core rate has not hit that figure since last February. It has held the benchmark interest rate to 1 percent since September.
Sal Guatieri, senior economist with BMO Capital Markets, said the new inflation report should lead the central bank to hold interest rates steady until July. But CIBC World Markets chief economist Avery Shenfeld predicted a rate increase in May.
