Inflation cooled in March as gas prices fell in Canada [Video]

Canadians got a break on inflation in March as gas prices fell and a slowdown in travel to the United States helped cool airfare costs, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

The annual rate of inflation slowed to 2.3 per cent last month, down from 2.6 per cent in February. A poll provided by LSEG Data & Analytics ahead of Tuesday’s release had expected yearly inflation to hold steady month-to-month.

StatCan said gas prices fell 1.6 per cent year-over-year in March, coming off a hike of 5.1 per cent in February.

The agency also pointed to a drop of 4.7 per cent annually in prices for travel tours last month following a sizeable jump over the long weekend in February.

Airfare costs were down 12 per cent year-over-year in March, StatCan said, and rose only slightly month-to-month.

StatCan said the cooling in flight costs came as fewer Canadians traveled to the United …