Inflation picks up pace in Canada

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OTTAWA, July 20 (UPI) -- Consumer prices in Canada rose 1.5 percent in June on a 12-month basis, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Inflation came in 0.3 percentage points faster than May, when the annual inflation rate was 1.2 percent.

The price of vehicles rose 3.9 percent from June 2011 over 12 months, a sharp jump from the annual climb of 1.7 percent in May.

Higher electricity costs in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia pushed the inflation figure for electricity to 5.9 percent for the year. Despite that, the energy price index was down 0.8 percent in the 12 months ending in June.

On a seasonally adjusted month-to-month basis, the consumer price index in Canada fell 0.2 percent in June after rising 0.3 percent in May. Food prices, month-to-month, were lower in June, down 0.2 percent, after rising 0.4 percent in the previous month, the agency said.