We take a break from my discussions about money and it’s philosophical strengths and it’s abilities to disrupt lives, and we go back to some tangible real statistics.
Stats Canada has released the CPI Numbers for March 2008 and inflation’s growth dropped again year over year to 1.4% . This in theory means that everything you bought last year at this time, now costs 1.4% more than it did then, which is not true, and you should have a look at the tables at the end of this article which goes into far more detail by expenditure type.
This still boggles my imagination, given the price of gas and it’s continued rise (now $1.17 per liter here in Ottawa), but the Canadian dollar’s strength in the world may be buffering this effect.
We can see without energy costs included inflation is actually close to 1%, which is amazing, yet, we must also remember that this may change very quickly.
This should mean continued lower interest rates, as inflation is well under control, for now.
Inflation Graphs and Tables
| Consumer Price Index and major components |
| (2002=100) |
|
Relative importance |
March 2008 |
February 2008 |
March 2007 |
February to March 2008 |
March 2007 to March 2008 |
|
|
Unadjusted |
|
|
|
|
|
% change |
| All-items |
100.002 |
112.6 |
112.2 |
111.1 |
0.4 |
1.4 |
| Food |
17.04 |
112.6 |
112.8 |
112.2 |
-0.2 |
0.4 |
| Shelter |
26.62 |
120.1 |
119.6 |
115.4 |
0.4 |
4.1 |
| Household operations and furnishings |
11.10 |
104.1 |
104.1 |
103.2 |
0.0 |
0.9 |
| Clothing and footwear |
5.36 |
96.0 |
94.1 |
97.5 |
2.0 |
-1.5 |
| Transportation |
19.88 |
117.8 |
117.0 |
117.7 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
| Health and personal care |
4.73 |
107.9 |
107.7 |
106.4 |
0.2 |
1.4 |
| Recreation, education and reading |
12.20 |
101.3 |
100.8 |
100.9 |
0.5 |
0.4 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products |
3.07 |
126.6 |
126.8 |
124.1 |
-0.2 |
2.0 |
| All-items (1992=100) |
|
134.1 |
133.6 |
132.3 |
0.4 |
1.4 |
| Special aggregates |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Goods |
48.78 |
108.1 |
107.4 |
108.8 |
0.7 |
-0.6 |
| Services |
51.22 |
117.1 |
116.9 |
113.4 |
0.2 |
3.3 |
| All-items excluding food and energy |
73.57 |
109.6 |
109.4 |
108.5 |
0.2 |
1.0 |
| Energy |
9.38 |
143.2 |
139.4 |
135.9 |
2.7 |
5.4 |
| Core CPI |
82.71 |
110.9 |
110.7 |
109.5 |
0.2 |
1.3 |
| 1. |
2005 CPI basket weights at April 2007 prices, Canada : Effective May 2007. Detailed weights are available under the Documentation section of survey 2301 at (www.statcan.gc.ca/english/sdds/index.htm). |
| 2. |
Figures may not add to 100% due to rounding. |
| 3. |
The measure of Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) excludes from the all-items CPI the effect of changes in indirect taxes and eight of the most volatile components identified by the Bank of Canada: fruit, fruit preparations and nuts; vegetables and vegetable preparations; mortgage interest cost; natural gas; fuel oil and other fuel; gasoline; inter-city transportation; and tobacco products and smokers’ supplies. For additional information on Core CPI, please consult the Bank of Canada website (www.bankofcanada.ca/en/inflation/index.htm). |
|
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I wonder if this is just the calm before the storm, or if it’s people like me who think the BoC should hold off on rate cuts that are way out in left field.
It seems like they are doing a great job from these numbers, though . . . if you exclude the 2% help the GST cut is kicking in then they would be raising rates right now.
As I read more and more about it I find stats much more interesting. It’s fun how you can use the same information to make any point you want.