Canada’s inflation rate hits 4.4% in September, highest level since 2003

Statistics Canada says the annual pace of inflation picked up in September to reach its highest level since February 2003.

The agency says its consumer price index in September was up 4.4 per cent compared with a year ago.

The reading compared with a year-over-year increase of 4.1 per cent in August.

Driving most of the increase were prices at the pumps as consumers paid 32.8 per cent more last month for gasoline than in September 2020.

The statistics agency says the annual inflation rate would have been 3.5 per cent had it excluded gasoline prices from its calculation.

Statistics Canada also says that food prices overall rose 3.9 per cent year-over-year, compared to the 2.7 per cent recorded in August.

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Canada’s inflation rate spikes in August to highest level in 18 years