OTTAWA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Canada's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.9 percent on an annual average basis in 2023, following a 40-year-high increase of 6.8 percent in 2022 and a 3.4 percent increase in 2021, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday.
Aside from 2022, the annual average increase in 2023 is the largest since 1991. Excluding energy, the annual average CPI rose 4.5 percent in 2023 compared with 5.7 percent in 2022, the national statistical agency said.
According to the agency, deceleration in the annual average headline inflation was led by lower energy prices, which fell 4.2 percent in 2023 following a 22.5 percent increase in 2022. The slowdown in energy prices was led by gasoline prices, which fell 7.6 percent in 2023 after a 28.5 percent increase in 2022. Prices for fuel oil fell 11.2 percent in 2023 compared with a 59.6 percent increase in 2022.
Despite showing a decelerating trend since January 2023, year-over-year price growth in the all-items CPI hovered between 3 percent and 4 percent for the last six months of 2023, the agency said.
The CPI rose 3.4 percent on a year-over-year basis in December, following a 3.1 percent increase in November. On a monthly basis, the CPI fell 0.3 percent in December, after a 0.1 percent gain in November. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.3 percent in December, Statistics Canada said.
