It was the highest year-over-year increase in the all-items index since May 2006, and the sharpest acceleration since February of this year.
Gasoline prices were the primary cause of an increase in the 12-month variation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in most provinces.
The year-over-year increase in gasoline prices (+12.7%) owed more to a sudden drop in last year's prices than to any significant developments in the most recent month.
The Bank of Canada's core index, used to monitor the inflation control target, rose by 2.0% between September 2006 and September 2007, a deceleration from the rate of 2.2% posted in August 2007. This was the lowest rate of growth in the core CPI since August 2006.
On a month-to-month basis, the all-items CPI rose 0.2% between August and September 2007, after declining 0.3% between July and August. This increase was due primarily to a rise in prices for women's clothing, the purchasing and leasing of passenger vehicles and the cost of postsecondary education.
The CPI excluding energy advanced 0.2% between August and September, after posting no growth in the previous month. The core index rose 0.4%, compared with a 0.1% rate of growth in the previous month.
Also moderating the increase in consumer prices were declines for women's clothing (-3.4%).
On a year-over-year basis, consumer prices increased at a faster pace than the national average in only four provinces in September: NewBrunswick (+2.9%), Manitoba (+2.8%), Saskatchewan (+3.8%) and Alberta (+4.6%).
The CPI accelerated in every province except Alberta, where the increase eased off slightly from the 12-month change of 4.7% in August. This was the lowest level of growth in consumer prices in Alberta since the beginning of the year.
The main factor in the 0.2% increase in consumer prices between August and September 2007 was a 5.9% increase in the price of women's clothing, caused by the arrival of the new women's collections in retail outlets.
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