Inflation slows sharply in Canada as consumer carbon price ends [Video]

The end of the consumer carbon price at the start of April drove inflation down sharply, Statistics Canada said Tuesday, but there were signs of pressure building at the grocery store.

The annual pace of inflation cooled to 1.7 per cent last month, down from 2.3 per cent in March, the agency said. That’s a little higher than the 1.6 per cent expected by a poll of economists.

But with a Bank of Canada interest rate decision set for early June, market odds flipped in favour of another rate hold from the central bank in response to the inflation data.

Canadians were primarily finding relief at the gas pumps in April.

Statistics Canada said gas prices fell 18.1 per cent year-over-year in April, thanks mostly to the end of the carbon price, but also because global oil prices fell amid declining demand and higher production from OPEC countries. Natural gas …