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Consumer Price Index
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Consumer prices rose 1.1% in the 12 months to January 2009, slightly less than the 1.2% increase observed in December.
Compared with the same month last year, downward pressure in January came mainly from lower gasoline prices, but also from a sharp decline in the cost for purchasing and leasing passenger vehicles. Upward pressure on the all-items index came mostly from higher food and shelter prices.
The rate of change in consumer prices has been slowing since September 2008.
Chart 1
Gasoline prices in January 2009 were 23.5% below the level in the same month in 2008. Price declines for fuel oil and other fuels also helped moderate consumer price increases. Overall, energy prices fell 10.9% in January, nearly matching the 11.0% decline posted in December.
Chart 2
Food prices increased 7.3% during the 12-month period to January, identical to the increase in December. Bakery and cereal products and fresh vegetables exerted upward pressure on the food index.
Shelter costs were also a significant upward contributor to the 12-month change in consumer prices in January, especially mortgage interest payments, which rose as a result of higher housing prices and despite lower mortgage interest rates.
Seasonally adjusted monthly change: A decrease from December
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, consumer prices fell 0.1% from December to January, following monthly declines of 0.3% in December, 0.3% in November and 0.6% in October. January's decline reflected price decreases for transportation items, which outweighed higher prices for food. Excluding food and energy, seasonally adjusted consumer prices decreased 0.2% in January.
12-month change: Significant drop in transportation prices offsets higher food prices
The transportation price index declined 7.5% in January; the drop in both gasoline prices and the cost of purchasing and leasing passenger vehicles were the main contributors.
Chart 3
The cost of purchasing and leasing passenger vehicles fell 8.2% compared with a year earlier, a significantly sharper decline than the 3.5% year-over-year drop observed in December. The decline reflected manufacturer incentives provided on 2009 vehicle models in response to the current downturn in auto sales.
These declines were slightly offset by a 4.1% increase in prices for passenger vehicle insurance premiums and a 4.2% increase in air transportation costs. However, the rate of growth was slower in both indexes than in December.
Prices for food purchased from stores rose 8.6% in the 12 months to January. The main contributor was a 10.5% rise in prices for bakery and cereal products, compared with the 12.4% increase in December. Higher prices for fresh vegetables were also a significant contributor.
Shelter costs remained the second largest contributor to the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rising 3.3% in the 12 months to January. The increase primarily reflected higher mortgage interest costs and natural gas prices. Overall, the rise in the cost of shelter continued to moderate from the 3.5% increase in December and the 3.9% increase in November.
Prices for clothing and footwear fell 0.4% in the 12 months to January. This was a much slower pace of decline than the 2.6% drop in December.
Wide variation in 12-month consumer price change among the provinces
Consumers in three Atlantic provinces saw a modest drop in consumer prices in the 12 months to January. In both Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, consumer prices in January 2009 were 0.1% below levels in the same month a year earlier. In New Brunswick, the 12-month decline was 0.5%.
Chart 4
The primary contributors to the declines in these three provinces were decreases in prices for gasoline, purchase and leasing of passenger vehicles and a drop in the 12-month price of fuel oil and other fuels. Fuel oil and other fuel products are used in greater intensity in the Atlantic provinces, resulting in a greater impact on consumer prices.
Alone among the Atlantic provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador (+0.9%) posted an increase in consumer prices, partly the result of a rise in homeowner's replacement costs, which represent the cost of maintaining a housing structure.
Excluding energy, consumer prices rose by 2.2% in Nova Scotia, 2.1% in New Brunswick and 2.5% in Prince Edward Island.
Elsewhere, Quebec maintained the lowest positive rate of growth in consumer prices, posting a 0.5% increase. The increase in consumer prices in Ontario slowed from 1.5% in December to 1.4% in the 12-months to January.
Consumer prices increased at the fastest pace in Saskatchewan (+2.4%). Alberta experienced the most significant slowdown in consumer price increases, slowing from 1.9% in December to 1.2% in the 12-months to January.
Bank of Canada's core index increases
The Bank of Canada's core index increased 1.9% over the 12 months to January, a slowdown from the 2.4% rise in December. Lower prices for purchasing and leasing of passenger vehicles attenuated the increase in the core index. In contrast, higher prices for bread, cereal products and meat were the primary upward contributors.
The seasonally adjusted monthly core index fell 0.3% from December to January, after a 0.1% increase from November to December.
For a more detailed analysis, consult the publication The Consumer Price Index.
Available on CANSIM: tables 326-0009, 326-0012, 326-0015, 326-0020 to 326-0022.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2301.
More information about the concepts and use of the CPI are also available online in Your Guide to the Consumer Price Index (62-557-XIB, free) from the Publications module of our website.
The January 2009 issue of The Consumer Price Index, Vol. 88, no. 1 (62-001-XWE, free) is now available from the Publications module of our website. A paper copy is also available (62-001-XPE, $12/$111). See How to order products. A more detailed analysis of the CPI is available in this publication.
The February Consumer Price Index will be released on March 19.
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-866-230-2248; 613-951-9606; fax 613-951-2848; prices-prix@statcan.gc.ca), Prices Division.
Table 1
| (2002=100) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relative importance2 | January 2008 | January 2009 | December 2007 to December 2008 | January 2008 to January 2009 | |
| Unadjusted | |||||
| % change | |||||
| All-items | 100.003 | 111.8 | 113.0 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Food | 17.04 | 112.4 | 120.6 | 7.3 | 7.3 |
| Shelter | 26.62 | 119.2 | 123.1 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
| Household operations and furnishings | 11.10 | 103.3 | 105.7 | 1.9 | 2.3 |
| Clothing and footwear | 5.36 | 92.2 | 91.8 | -2.6 | -0.4 |
| Transportation | 19.88 | 117.6 | 108.8 | -6.1 | -7.5 |
| Health and personal care | 4.73 | 107.5 | 110.4 | 2.0 | 2.7 |
| Recreation, education and reading | 12.20 | 99.6 | 99.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products | 3.07 | 126.4 | 129.2 | 2.0 | 2.2 |
| All-items (1992=100) | 133.0 | 134.5 | 1.2 | 1.1 | |
| Special aggregates | |||||
| Goods | 48.78 | 107.3 | 106.2 | -0.8 | -1.0 |
| Services | 51.22 | 116.2 | 119.7 | 3.1 | 3.0 |
| All-items excluding food and energy | 73.57 | 109.0 | 110.3 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
| Energy | 9.38 | 139.0 | 123.8 | -11.0 | -10.9 |
| Core CPI4 | 82.71 | 110.1 | 112.2 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
Table 2
| (2002=100) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relative importance1 | January 2008 | January 2009 | December 2007 to December 2008 | January 2008 to January 2009 | |
| Unadjusted | |||||
| % change | |||||
| Canada | 100.002 | 111.8 | 113.0 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 1.27 | 111.9 | 112.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| Prince Edward Island | 0.35 | 114.2 | 114.1 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Nova Scotia | 2.56 | 113.5 | 113.4 | -0.2 | -0.1 |
| New Brunswick | 1.97 | 111.7 | 111.1 | -0.6 | -0.5 |
| Quebec | 21.05 | 111.0 | 111.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Ontario | 41.22 | 110.9 | 112.4 | 1.5 | 1.4 |
| Manitoba | 3.06 | 110.8 | 112.4 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
| Saskatchewan | 2.64 | 113.0 | 115.7 | 2.6 | 2.4 |
| Alberta | 11.43 | 118.8 | 120.2 | 1.9 | 1.2 |
| British Columbia | 14.29 | 109.9 | 111.4 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
| Whitehorse | 0.06 | 110.4 | 113.0 | 3.0 | 2.4 |
| Yellowknife | 0.08 | 111.3 | 114.3 | 3.1 | 2.7 |
| Iqaluit (Dec. 2002=100) | 0.02 | 108.2 | 111.8 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
Table 3
| (2002=100) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relative importance1 | November 2008 | December 2008 | January 2009 | November to December 2008 | December 2008 to January 2009 | |
| Seasonally adjusted | ||||||
| % change | ||||||
| All-items | 100.002 | 114.4 | 114.0 | 113.9 | -0.3 | -0.1 |
| Food | 17.04 | 119.8 | 119.8 | 120.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Shelter | 26.62 | 123.4 | 123.4 | 123.1 | 0.0 | -0.2 |
| Household operations and furnishings | 11.10 | 105.6 | 105.6 | 105.8 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Clothing and footwear | 5.36 | 93.1 | 92.9 | 93.7 | -0.2 | 0.9 |
| Transportation | 19.88 | 113.2 | 110.3 | 108.8 | -2.6 | -1.4 |
| Health and personal care | 4.73 | 109.9 | 110.1 | 110.6 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| Recreation, education and reading | 12.20 | 102.1 | 102.0 | 101.8 | -0.1 | -0.2 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products | 3.07 | 128.5 | 128.7 | 129.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Special aggregates | ||||||
| All-items excluding food | 82.96 | 113.0 | 112.0 | 111.5 | -0.9 | -0.4 |
| All-items excluding food and energy | 73.57 | 111.0 | 111.0 | 110.8 | 0.0 | -0.2 |
| All-items excluding eight of the most volatile components | 82.71 | 111.4 | 111.5 | 111.3 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Core CPI3 | 82.71 | 112.8 | 112.9 | 112.6 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
