Canadians are still paying more for groceries, but the good news is the price isn't rising as fast as it was.
Statistics Canada released its Consumer Price Index Report for July on Tuesday morning, showing inflation rose faster than some banks predicted, fueled mainly by higher mortgage interest rates and electricity costs.
The overall rate in July was 3.3 per cent, higher than the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and the Bank of Montreal's (BMO) prediction of 3.1 per cent. The result is a 0.6 per cent jump from the month before when it was 2.8 per cent.
The Bank of Canada also predicted inflation would hover around 3 per cent before coming back down in mid-2025.
Ontario's rate was just below the national rate at 3.2 per cent.
Homeowners with a variable rate mortgage saw those cost rise 30.6 per cent over a year ago. Excluding that factor, inflation was 2.4 per cent.
Another factor leading to the rise in inflation last month was gas prices.
"Prices for gasoline prices fell 12.9 per cent year over year in July after a 21.6 per cent decline in June," said the report. "This was the result of a base-year effect, with prices remaining nearly unchanged on a month-over-month basis in July 2023 compared with a 9.2 per cent decline in July 2022, when there were concerns of a slowing global economy."
In summary, prices for gas fell, but not enough to effect a positive change.
At the grocery store, consumers saw their bills rise 8.5 per cent. While that's still hefty for anyone struggling to meet those obligations, it was lower than June's 9.1 per cent increase year-over-year.
The cost of fresh fruit rose 4.1 per cent after June's 10.4 per cent jump, the most significant decline in price growth since February 2008. It was attributed to a 40.9 per cent deceleration in the price of grapes.
Bakery goods rose 9.8 per cent in price, while meat rose 11.7 per cent.
A jump in electricity rates in Alberta, 127.8 per cent, helped fuel the national 11.7 per cent increase. Natural gas declined 15.7 per cent from a year ago when it rose 22.6 per cent in Ontario.
Canada continues to have among the lowest rates of inflation of G7 nations.
Inflation fell to 3.2 per cent last month in the U.S., the lowest of G7 countries. The highest rate was in Germany at 6.2 per cent, while it was 5.9 per cent in Italy and 4.3 in France.
The United Kingdom will release its Consumer Price Index report on Wednesday. Japan's report comes out on Thursday.
The next Consumer Price Index Report, detailing inflation for August, is expected on September 19.