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Inflation report to be released today

Economists are forecasting that inflation reaccelerated to around 4 per cent last month, reversing previous progress made as gasoline prices push inflation higher.

Statistics Canada’s August consumer price index report set to be released Tuesday is expected to show the annual inflation rate rose for a second month in a row.

Canada’s inflation rate tumbled to 2.8 per cent in June, entering the Bank of Canada’s target range of 1 per cent to 3 per cent for the first time since March, 2021. The celebrations on reaching that benchmark were short-lived, however, as inflation ticked up the next month.

The Bank of Canada has kept the door open to more rate hikes in part because it expects getting inflation down to 2 per cent will take some time. But economists say the recent slack in the economy will likely convince the central bank to remain on the sidelines.

– The Canadian Press