Highlights:

1. Consumer prices rose 1.4% in the 12 months to March, following a 1.6% increase in February. On an unadjusted monthly basis, consumer prices remained unchanged in March, after rising 0.4% in February.

All-items Consumer Price Index (CPI):

1. The rise in the all-items CPI was due mostly to gasoline prices. Consumers paid 17.2% more at the pump in March than they did a year earlier, compared with a 15.3% increase in February.
2. Energy prices rose 5.8% between March 2009 and March 2010, after rising 4.0% in February.
3. Prices for purchase of passenger vehicles increased 3.9% on a year-over-year basis in March, following a 3.5% rise in February.
4. All major components in the CPI, except shelter and clothing and footwear, recorded increases in March.
5. Upward pressure on the 12-month change came primarily from higher prices for transportation (+6.0%), food (+1.3%), and household operations, furnishings and equipment (+1.4).

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

Main upward contributors:

1. Gasoline (+17.2%)
2. Purchase of passenger vehicles (+3.9%)
3. Passenger vehicle insurance premiums (+5.5%)
4. Property taxes (+4.3%)
5. Food purchased from restaurants (+2.6%)

Main downward contributors:

1. Mortgage interest cost (-6.0%)
2. Natural gas (-22.4%)
3. Air transportation (-10.9%)
4. Women’s clothing (-6.3%)
5. Video equipment (-16.6%)

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

Main upward contributors:

1. Gasoline (+3.7%)
2. Women’s clothing (+6.4%)
3. Fresh vegetables (+3.3%)
4. Men’s clothing (+2.5%)
5. Homeowner’s replacement cost (+0.5%)

Main downward contributors:

1. Traveller accommodation (-13.8%)
2. Purchase of passenger vehicles (-1.6%)
3. Mortgage interest cost (-0.4%)
4. Natural gas (-1.7%)
5. Electricity (-0.6%)