Canada's consumer price index falls

Canadian consumer prices fell 0.3 per cent in June. This is the first 12-month decline in the all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) since November 1994.

The June drop followed a 0.1 per cent increase in May. The decrease was due primarily to a 12-month decline of 19.0% in prices for energy products, particularly gasoline, when energy is excluded, the CPI rose 2.1% in June. Between June 2008 and June 2009, gasoline prices fell 24.3%. This follows a a 12-month decline of 25.1% in May. Statistics Canada reports nationally, the average retail price for regular, unleaded gasoline at self-service stations has been volatile, climbing to a peak of 136.6 cents per litre in July 2008 before reaching a low of 76.5 cents per litre in December 2008. In June 2009, unleaded gasoline prices at self-service stations averaged 101.6 cents per litre compared with 135.1 cents per litre in June 2008. Of the eight major components in the CPI, three recorded declines in the 12 months to June: transportation; shelter; and clothing and footwear. Transportation was the most significant downward contributor was transportation. This includes lower prices for gasoline, as well as purchasing passenger vehicles. In the shelter component, prices fell for natural gas, fuel oil and other fuels and homeowner's replacement costs, continuing a downward trend. Food prices were the primary upward contributor on the CPI in June, however, the increase in food prices has been slowing since March 2009.