Canada: Anuual CPI rises to 2% in December vs 1.7% expected

"The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.0% on a year-over-year basis in December, following a 1.7% increase in November," Statistics Canada reported on Friday.

Key takeaways from the press release

• Lower energy prices were offset by higher prices for various services, including air transportation, telephone services and travel tours.
• Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 2.5% in December.
• On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.2% in December, following a 0.1% decline in November. 

Meanwhile, the core CPI released by the Bank of Canada stayed unchanged at -0.2% on a monthly basis in December to lift the annual change to 1.7% from 1.5% in November.