Briefing notes

12-Month Change:

  1. Consumer prices rose 2.5% in the 12 months to January, following a 2.3% increase in December.
  2. On a year-over-year basis, prices rose in seven of the eight major components in January, the exception being recreation, education and reading. Transportation and food continued to post the largest increases.
  3. Consumer prices rose in every province in the 12 months to January. New Brunswick posted the largest increase (+3.2%) while British Columbia recorded the smallest gain (+1.7%).

Month-to-Month Change:

  1. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, consumer prices increased 0.5% from December to January after decreasing 0.2% from November to December.
  2. Consumer prices, before seasonal adjustment, went up 0.4% from December to January, after falling 0.6% from November to December.

Bank of Canada's Core Index:

  1. The Bank of Canada's core index rose 2.1% in the 12 months to January, after increasing 1.9% in December.

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

Main upward contributors:

  1. Gasoline (+6.8%)
  2. Electricity (+7.3%)
  3. Food purchased from restaurants (+2.8%)
  4. Meat (+6.5%)
  5. Homeowners' replacement cost (+2.7%)

Main downward contributors:

  1. Furniture (-3.6%)
  2. Video equipment (-9.7%)
  3. Mortgage interest cost (-0.4%)
  4. Travel Tours (-3.0%)

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

Main upward contributors:

  1. Gasoline (+2.8%)
  2. Purchase of passenger vehicles (+1.8%)
  3. Electricity (+1.5%)
  4. Air transportation (+3.3%)
  5. Water (+4.2%)

Main downward contributors:

  1. Travel tours (-19.4%)
  2. Natural gas (-1.7%)
  3. Fresh fruit (-1.8%)
  4. Sporting and athletic equipment (-4.8%)
  5. Athletic footwear (-3.7%)
Twelve-month and monthly percentage change in the most quoted indexes, not seasonally adjusted