Seasonally adjusted inflation rate falls for first time since May of 2020 (Canadian Press image)

By The Canadian Press

Alberta bucks national trend for inflation

January inflation lower than predictions

Feb 20, 2024 | 7:21 AM

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the country’s annual inflation rate fell to 2.9 per cent last month.

The sharp decline comes after inflation ticked up to 3.4 per cent in December.

The consumer price index report says the largest contributor to the decline was lower gasoline prices on a year-over-year basis.

Price growth for groceries also decelerated significantly, rising 3.4 per cent annually in January compared with 4.7 per cent in December.

StatCan says on a seasonally adjusted basis, prices ticked lower between December and January, marking the first decline since May 2020.

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The Bank of Canada’s preferred core measures of inflation, which strip out volatility in prices, also eased last month.

Inflation in Alberta went against the national trend, and rose by .4 per cent to 3.4 in January.

(The Canadian Press)