May Inflation Data: High Oil and Gasoline Prices Drive Inflation Up
Statistics Canada is set to release its latest inflation data for May today. Economists anticipate that high oil and gasoline prices will drive inflation up for the month. The consensus is that the annual inflation rate increased to three percent in May, up from 2.8 percent in April. T-D Bank senior economist Andrew Hencic notes that rising gasoline prices in May will contribute to the uptick in inflation, although oil prices have moderated since then. He will be closely monitoring price movements beyond gasoline in the upcoming report. The Bank of Canada, which aims for a two percent inflation target, has observed limited evidence of a widespread impact of higher energy prices on other costs thus far.