Inflation: Cent and Price Pressures

inflation: Economists expected inflation to be unchanged at 1.7 per cent, according to The Toronto Star. Core measures seen as a better gauge of price pressures remained at about 1.9 per cent.2018 saw inflation finish above the central bank's target for the first time in seven years averaging 2.3 per cent, compared with 1.6 per cent in 2017. The consumer price index gained 2 per cent in December from a year ago, up from November's 1.7 per cent pace, as air-transport prices surged 22 per cent surge. Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS file photo Even with the unexpected pickup, the overall inflation picture remains benign, with few signs of the price pressures that could prompt the Bank of Canada to act with more immediacy. While there's nothing here to drive the bank off the sidelines anytime soon, the underlying firmness in prices keeps them very much in play later this year, Doug Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal, said in a note to investors. Most economists expect the central bank, after lifting borrowing costs five times since mid-2017, will stay on hold for the next few months before resuming hikes. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.