While pleased to see inflation slowing, some shoppers still aren’t seeing any relief on their grocery bills.
“[I’ve noticed] definitely that they’ve increased for sure and we’re definitely looking for bargains where we can find them,” says shopper Patricia Laing.
Statistics Canada, in its latest consumer price index released Tuesday, said the country's annual inflation rate slowed to 6.3 per cent in December.
According to Statistics Canada, grocery prices increased by 11 per cent in December -- a bit better than the 11.4 per cent in November but that’s not being noticed at the check-out.
“The spike in romaine [I] noticed and that has slipped back a bit but I don’t think it’s back to where it was in September. Cucumber, I just paid $3.50, $3.49, that’s as much as I paid for a cucumber since I can’t remember when,” said Geoff Lewington.
But significant savings can be found at the pumps.
In Nova Scotia, the minimum price for a litre of self-serve gasoline fell from $1.81 per litre in early November to $1.47 before the end of December.
“I don’t think it’s going to drop much because basically gas is a commodity, one of the biggest in the world. So we’ve got the best of it right now, I would say,” says motorist Donald Marsman.
There is some optimism that prices will soon start to slow even more. Inflation rates in December slowed across the Maritimes.
P.E.I. led the way with a two per cent dip, settling at 7.7 per cent. Nova Scotia’s rate fell by one per cent to 7.6 per cent and New Brunswick saw a 1.5 per cent rate drop to land at 6.3 per cent.
“Ultimately, I think that’s good news for people who are looking to buy a home,” says Matt Honsberger, Royal Lepage Atlantic’s president.
That’s because the Bank of Canada could start to ease off on interest rate hikes if inflation gets reigned in.
“The Bank of Canada is certainly pushing hard to get to that 2 per cent inflation rate and you can’t do it all in one fell swoop but it’s nice to see one big move in that direction,” Honsberger says.
The Bank of Canada will make its next decision on interest rates on Jan. 25.
With files from the Canadian Press.
