Statistics Canada says inflation in September was up 0.5 per cent compared with a year ago.
The reading compared with a year-over-year increase of 0.1 per cent in August. Economists on average had expected a year-over-year increase of 0.4 per cent, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.
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The statistics agency says that prices were up in six of the eight components of the inflation tracker, including increases in tuition fees as students headed back to school.
The agency also says the back-to-school shopping season wasn’t as big as it was one year ago, marked by a year-over-year drop of 4.1 per cent in clothing and footwear prices.
Statistics Canada says the consumer price index would have increased by 1.0 per cent in September had a 10.7 per cent year-over-year drop in the price of gasoline not been factored in.