Highlights:

Consumer prices advanced 0.1% in the 12 months to May 2009, down from the 0.4% rise posted in April. On an unadjusted monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.7% from April to May, after falling 0.1% from March to April.

All-items Consumer Price Index (CPI):

1. Of the eight major components in the CPI, upward pressure on the 12-month change came primarily from higher food prices (+6.4%).
2. Mitigating the increase in the CPI in May was sustained price drops for transportation costs (-8.2%), due primarily to a 12-month drop in prices for both gasoline and passenger vehicles.
3. A 12-month decline of 0.2% in costs for shelter also put downward pressure on the 12-month change in the CPI.
4. The month-to-month rise in the CPI from April to May came primarily from a substantial rise in gasoline prices.

Main contributors to the 12-month change in the CPI:

Main upward contributors:

1. Meat (+6.5%)
2. Fresh vegetables (+16.4%)
3. Food purchased from restaurants (+4.0%)
4. Passenger vehicle insurance premiums (+4.3%)
5. Mortgage interest cost (+1.9%)

Main downward contributors:

1. Gasoline (-25.1%)
2. Purchase and leasing of passenger vehicles (-6.8%)
3. Fuel oil and other fuels (-40.6%)
4. Natural gas (-18.8%)
5. Homeowner’s replacement cost (-3.4%)

Main contributors to the monthly change in the CPI, not seasonally adjusted:

Main upward contributors:

1. Gasoline (+8.3%)
2. Passenger vehicle insurance premiums (+3.1%)
3. Traveller accommodation (+7.3%)

Main downward contributors:

1. Women’s clothing (-3.1%)
2. Mortgage interest cost (-0.7%)
3. Homeowner’s replacement cost (-0.7%)