Christmas CPI Data Ho Ho Ho

No, I am not commenting about the Supreme Court striking down parts of the new Anti-Prostitution laws (ok, another cheap pop). No our Amigos at Stats Canada had a festive gift for Canadians on Friday publishing the Consumer Price Index numbers for November 2013.

To quote our good friends exactly:

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.9% in the 12 months to November, following a 0.7% increase in October. November marked the 7th time in the last 13 months in which the CPI increased less than 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

That number looks pretty darn low, doesn’t it? Many pensions have a “COLA” that only kicks in if the CPI is over 2.0%, which might mean no increase this year. It doesn’t feel like things are not getting more expensive quickly, but then again, I am a paranoid loony when it comes to Inflation.

A more telling quote from the survey said:

The energy component of the CPI, which includes electricity, natural gas, fuel oil and gasoline, increased 2.3% on a year-over-year basis in November, after decreasing 1.6% in October. The CPI excluding energy rose 0.8% in November compared with the same month last year, following a 0.9% rise in October.

So again, Energy is actually flying high, and in Ontario with Electrical costs ready to skyrocket over the next couple of years, that could change these numbers a great deal. Makes you want to investigate Solar panels more closely, doesn’t it?

The Big Table

As usual I include one of the many tables supplied by Stats Canada, have a look and note that Alcohol continues to increase in cost too (how Grinchy for this holiday season).

Consumer Price Index and major components, Canada Not seasonally adjusted

	Relative importance1	November 2012	October 2013	Nov 2013	October to Nov 2013	Nov 2012 to Nov 2013
All items Consumer Price Index (CPI)	%	(2002=100)			% change
All-items Consumer Price Index (CPI)	100.002	121.9	123.0	123.0	0.0	0.9
Food	16.60	131.4	131.7	132.8	0.8	1.1
Shelter	26.26	127.5	129.2	129.8	0.5	1.8
Household operations, furnishings and equipment	12.66	113.7	114.7	114.8	0.1	1.0
Clothing and footwear	5.82	92.5	94.0	92.1	-2.0	-0.4
Transportation	19.98	127.3	128.5	128.0	-0.4	0.5
Health and personal care	4.93	118.7	117.9	118.0	0.1	-0.6
Recreation, education and reading	10.96	106.1	106.9	106.2	-0.7	0.1
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products	2.79	138.3	141.0	141.1	0.1	2.0
Special aggregates
Core CPI3	84.91	120.2	121.6	121.5	-0.1	1.1
All-items CPI excluding energy	91.44	119.3	120.3	120.3	0.0	0.8
Energy4	8.56	153.8	157.0	157.4	0.3	2.3
Gasoline	4.62	175.9	178.6	176.6	-1.1	0.4
All-items CPI excluding food and energy	74.85	116.7	117.8	117.5	-0.3	0.7
Goods	48.18	113.8	114.3	114.3	0.0	0.4
Services	51.82	129.9	131.8	131.8	0.0	1.5

1. 2011 CPI basket weights at January 2013 prices, Canada, effective February 2013. Detailed weights are available under the Documentation section of survey 2301 (www.statcan.gc.ca/imdb-bmdi/2301-eng.htm).

2. Figures may not add up to 100% as a result of rounding.

3. The Bank of Canada’s core index excludes eight of the CPI’s most volatile components (fruit, fruit preparations and nuts; vegetables and vegetable preparations; mortgage interest cost; natural gas; fuel oil and other fuels; gasoline; inter-city transportation; and tobacco products and smokers’ supplies) as well as the effects of changes in indirect taxes on the remaining components. For additional information on the core CPI, consult the Bank of Canada website .

4. The special aggregate “Energy” includes: electricity; natural gas; fuel oil and other fuels; gasoline; and fuel, parts and supplies for recreational vehicles.