Canada Inflation Decelerates to 1.8% Before Oil Shock

Canada’s inflation rate slowed more than expected last month as a temporary sales tax break dropped out of annual comparisons and core price pressures eased before the spike in oil prices.

Yearly headline inflation fell to 1.8% in February from 2.3% in January, Statistics Canada reported on Monday. That’s lower than the 1.9% expected by economists in a Bloomberg survey.