Canada's inflation rate slows to slowest since September

Canada's inflation rate has slowed to its slowest since September. According to Statistics Canada, inflation in April rose to 1.7 percent from a year earlier, down from 2.3 percent in March.

The sharp decline in inflation last month was due to the consumer carbon tax that was abolished in early April, while core inflation, i.e. grocery inflation, did not see any relief.

The Bank of Canada mainly looks at core inflation to raise or lower interest rates. According to the Statistics Department, grocery prices rose by 3.8 percent year-on-year in April.

It is worth noting that these latest inflation figures come two weeks before the Bank of Canada announces its next interest rate on June 4. The bank had kept interest rates unchanged on April 16 after seven consecutive rate cuts since last June and had said that it could take decisive steps if needed to keep inflation under control.