Back on Wednesday last week (hey I’ve taken some time off, cut me some slack), our friends at Stats Canada published their Consumer Price Index Report for February 2013 and it’s news continued to be encouraging, in that inflation continues to run at a relatively low 1.2% (year over year).
Last month the CPI rate was at a petit 0.5% year over year so this is a 140% jump over last month’s rate, however it is still well below the traditional 2.0% HOLY CRAP INFLATION Line.
That big jump at the end of the graph actually does look quite dramatic, doesn’t it?
Who was a big culprit in this steep jump? You guessed it gasoline, to quote our friends at Stats Canada:
Gasoline prices advanced 3.9% year over year in February following a 1.8% decrease in January. On a monthly basis, gasoline prices rose 8.4% in February, the largest monthly increase since May 2008.
I think I could have guessed that one without reading the report, given the gouging I have seen in the Ottawa area for Gas. The dramatic differences by area is interesting too (in Ottawa Gas yesterday was $1.24 per liter, in Carleton Place it was $1.15 and in Peterborough it was $1.27).
If you want a much more depressing picture, have a look at this one:
Sad eh? Remember the rate started a while ago, but it sums up nicely how the price of everything has gone up!
Bank of Canada’s core index
Remember our amigos at the Bank of Canada do their inflationary calculations in a different way:
The Bank of Canada’s core index rose 1.4% in the 12 months to February 2013, following a 1.0% advance in January.On a monthly basis, the seasonally adjusted core index rose 0.4% in February, after increasing 0.1% in January.
So the advance in this index’s increase is only 40% higher, doubt this will be the reason the B of C might tighten their purse strings (but I have been wrong before).
The Really Big Table
The Big Tables are where you really see why things are so much more expensive, so check them all out at Stats Canada, but here is a good one to whet your appetite:
Consumer Price Index and major components, Canada Not seasonally adjusted
| Relative import1 | Feb 2012 | January 2013 | February 2013 | January to February 2013 | February 2012 to February 2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | (2002=100) | % change | ||||
| All-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) | 100.002 | 121.2 | 121.3 | 122.7 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Food | 16.60 | 130.4 | 131.6 | 132.9 | 1.0 | 1.9 |
| Shelter | 26.26 | 126.9 | 127.8 | 127.9 | 0.1 | 0.8 |
| Household operations, furnishings and equipment | 12.66 | 112.8 | 113.5 | 114.3 | 0.7 | 1.3 |
| Clothing and footwear | 5.82 | 91.9 | 87.9 | 91.4 | 4.0 | -0.5 |
| Transportation | 19.98 | 127.8 | 126.7 | 130.3 | 2.8 | 2.0 |
| Health and personal care | 4.93 | 118.4 | 118.5 | 118.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Recreation, education and reading | 10.96 | 103.7 | 103.7 | 104.7 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products | 2.79 | 136.6 | 138.9 | 139.4 | 0.4 | 2.0 |
| Special aggregates | ||||||
| Core CPI3 | 84.91 | 118.9 | 119.6 | 120.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 |
| All-items CPI excluding energy | 91.44 | 118.3 | 118.7 | 119.7 | 0.8 | 1.2 |
| Energy4 | 8.56 | 156.9 | 152.8 | 160.1 | 4.8 | 2.0 |
| Gasoline | 4.62 | 179.2 | 171.6 | 186.1 | 8.4 | 3.9 |
| All-items CPI excluding food and energy | 74.85 | 115.6 | 115.9 | 116.9 | 0.9 | 1.1 |
| Goods | 48.18 | 114.1 | 112.9 | 115.2 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Services | 51.82 | 128.2 | 129.6 | 130.1 | 0.4 | 1.5 |
Inflation 2013
What was Inflation like in 2013?
- Christmas CPI Data Ho Ho Ho
- Low Flying Prices: Inflation at 1.1% for September
- The Price is Right? Consumer Price Index up 1.1% for August in Canada
- CPI Up to 1.2 % in June in Canada 2013
- Inflation at 0.4 % For April in Canada
- Inflation Back to 1.0% for March in Canada
- Inflation Up a Little in February in Canada
- CPI at 0.5% for January in Canada, Wow that is Low!
- Inflation Below 1% to end 2012 in Canada
I was printing off a summary of our bills for the past 5 years, and discovered the amount we pay for natural gas now (and this year was reasonably cold) is almost half what we paid 5 years ago. That’s the dubious “benefit” of shale gas frac’ing. If a major (water) aquifer gets contaminated we could see some amazing “inflation” in the price of nat gas, when in reality it would be just returning to its older prices.