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Canada’s annual inflation rate fell to 1.8 per cent in February, Statistics Canada said on Monday, with the end of last year’s “tax holiday” reflected in the year-over-year numbers.
February’s inflation rate slowed compared to the same time last year, as prices were driven higher when the GST break ended mid-month, the data agency said, in what economists refer to as a “base effect.”
Gas prices recorded a smaller decline compared to the same time last year, mostly due to higher prices for crude oil in the lead-up to the war in the Middle East.
The full brunt of the war’s impact, which began on the last day of February, won’t be reflected until next month’s inflation report.

