欧美文化:Canada's inflation continues up in December

OTTAWA, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Canada's annual rate of inflation rose to 4.8 percent in December 2021, the highest since 1991 due to higher prices for food, passenger vehicles and housing, according to Statistics Canada on Wednesday.

The inflation, which has been rising since the COVID-19 outbreak in February 2020, was 4.7 percent in November.

Prices at the gas pumps were up 33.3 percent year over year in December compared with a 43.6 percent annual increase in November as the tightening of public health restrictions related to the Omicron COVID-19 variant weighed on demand.

Excluding gasoline, Statistics Canada said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 4 percent year over year in December.

On a monthly basis, the CPI fell 0.1 percent in December, following a 0.2 percent increase in November.

This was the first monthly decline since December 2020, as gasoline prices fell in response to lower demand amid the spread of the Omicron variant.

December marked nine months in a row that headline inflation has come in above the Bank of Canada's target zone of between 1 percent and 3 percent.

The Bank of Canada said it would act to stop runaway inflation. It is scheduled to make a rate announcement next week.