December 21, 2017ANALYSIS OF NOVA SCOTIA'S CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR NOVEMBER 2017 In Nova Scotia November 2017, annual consumer price inflation (year-over-year growth) was 1.8 per cent, below the national average of 2.1 per cent. Monthly consumer prices were up 0.3 per cent in Nova Scotia and up 0.3 per cent in Canada.
Within Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick (+2.7 per cent), PEI (+2.2%), and Newfoundland and Labrador (+2.0%) all had higher inflation than Nova Scotia. On July 1, 2016, the provincial component of the harmonized sales tax (HST) increased in both Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick. In Prince Edward Island, the provincial component of the HST was increased effective October 1, 2016.
All other provinces experienced positive annual inflation in November.
Nova Scotia's annual consumer price inflation (year over year growth in CPI) excluding food and energy rose 1.5 per cent in November, below the national rate of 1.8 per cent. Price level gains for this index were largest in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan (both +2.7 per cent), and lowest in Quebec (+1.2 per cent). On a monthly basis, Nova Scotia's index excluding food and energy was down 0.2 per cent.
The main contributors to the monthly (November 2017 vs. October 2017) NS CPI movement:
Gasoline (+8.5%)
Fresh vegetables (+5.8%)
Non-electric kitchen utensils, tableware and cookware (-11.5%)
Fresh or frozen pork (-18.2%)
The main contributors to the annual (November 2017 vs. November 2016) NS CPI movement:
Gasoline (+11.6%)
Inter-City transportation (+10.5%)
Household appliances (-6.9%)
Fresh or frozen beef (-6.9%)
The CPI for food in Nova Scotia declined 0.2 per cent year-over-year with a 0.2 per cent decrease month-over-month. CPI growth in food (year over year) was up in all Atlantic provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador. Nationally, annual food prices increased 1.6 per cent.
The Nova Scotia energy index increased by 6.8 per cent compared to a year ago, with a sharp monthly increase from October to November 2017. Energy price growth was smallest in Ontario on a year over year basis. Nationally, the index was up 7.6 per cent. Energy prices saw the largest increase in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Major Components for November 2017
The following table shows the price increases specific to Nova Scotia for the major components of the CPI this month:
Long Run Trends
The All-Items CPI annual inflation rate for Nova Scotia was below Canada's in November 2017. Since July 2014, Nova Scotia's annual inflation has been below the Canadian average except for three months in 2016: January, September and November. While month to month movements in the indices can be different, over time they generally follow the same overall trend.
Annual inflation for the CPI excluding food and energy was lower for Nova Scotia (+1.5 per cent) than for Canada (+1.8 per cent).
Bank of Canada's preferred measures of core inflation
Compared with November 2016, CPI-Common rose 1.5 per cent, CPI-Median rose 1.9 per cent, and CPI-Trim rose 1.8 per cent in Canada. All-items CPI excluding eight of the most volatile components as defined by the Bank of Canada and excluding the effect of changes in indirect taxes (formerly referred to as CPIX) rose 1.3 per cent year over year in November 2017.
Appendix Tables
Source: Statistics Canada CANSIM Tables 326-0020 , 326-0023