Inflation Expected to Ease to 2.1%, Lowest Level Since March 2021: Economists

Economists anticipate that Canada’s annual inflation rate in August fell to its lowest level since March 2021. Ahead of Statistics Canada’s consumer price index set to be released on Tuesday, economists polled by Reuters are expecting the report to show prices rose 2.1 percent from a year ago, down from a 2.5 percent annual gain in July. The forecasters also anticipate inflation remained flat on a month-over-month basis. “Unless there’s something lurking out there that we’re not aware of, it looks like we’re headed for a pretty favourable reading,” said BMO chief economist Douglas Porter. RBC economists Nathan Janzen and Claire Fan said in a report last week that those expectations would put the headline inflation rate just a hair over the Bank of Canada’s two percent inflation target....