MNI 5 THINGS: Canada May CPI +2.2% Y/Y, Below Expected>

By Courtney Tower 

     OTTAWA (MNI) - The following are the key points from the May 

Consumer Price Index data released Friday by Statistics Canada: 

     - Canadian inflation stayed the same in May as in April, at 2.2% 

year-over-year, below the 2.6% expected by analysts in a MNI survey. 

Prices edged up 0.1% on the month, also the same as in April, and below 

analysts' expectations of a 0.4% gain. 

     - The Bank of Canada's three preferred measures of core inflation 

showed underlying inflation softened slightly: two of the three measures 

stayed the same at 1.9% for the fourth consecutive month, while 

CPI-Trim, which has been the measure that has moved around over the four 

months, edged down to 1.9% in May from 2.1% in April. 

     - Price gains in services, at +2.3%, were the same as in April, 

held back by a 7.1% y/y decline in the telephone services index after a 

0.9% decrease in April. The goods index rose 2.2% on the year but 

dropped 0.3% month-over-month.  

     - All eight major components rose year-over-year in May, although 

five of them grew at a slower rate than in April. The transportation 

index rose 5.6% in May after a 4.7% increase in April. The energy index 

rose 11.6% on the year, driven by a 22.9% gasoline price increase. All 

items excluding gasoline rose 1.5% year-over-year, versus +1.7% in 

April, and were flat on the month. All items excluding food and energy 

rose 0.1% on the month and 1.7% on the year. 

     - On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, CPI rose 0.1% in May, as 

it had done in April. The biggest gain was in recreation, education and 

reading (+1.7% after -1.5% in April). The biggest monthly decline was in 

household operations, furnishings and equipment (-1.0% after +0.8% in 

April). 

     --MNI Ottawa Bureau; email: yali.ndiaye@marketnews.com 

     [TOPICS: MACDS$,M$C$$$]