Canada’s inflation rate holds steady at 3.1%

Canada’s annual inflation rate held steady at 3.1 per cent in November, matching the previous month’s rate, according to data released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday.

Economists were expecting the rate to fall below the three per cent threshold. Higher prices for travel tours put upward pressure on inflation rates. Slower price growth for food, energy and cell services balanced this out.

While the price of groceries continued to rise, they did so at a slower pace compared to the previous year’s rates for the fifth consecutive month in a row — with a few exceptions, including meat, preserved vegetables and sugar, the agency reported.

CBC/MS