Canadian inflation would have accelerated further in January were it not for Ottawa’s tax holiday, putting the Bank of Canada in an awkward position when it comes to its next interest rate decision ,

Canada's annual inflation rate rose 1.9% in January, up from 1.8% in December as lower prices helped by a sales tax reprieve were partly offset by higher cost of gasoline and natural gas, data showed on Tuesday.

Economists are more confident the Bank of Canada might pause its interest rate cuts next month — tariffs notwithstanding — as Canada's annual inflation rate ticked back up in January.

Canada’s jobless rate has fallen for two consecutive months, as it dropped to 6.8 per cent in December from a recent peak of 6.9 per cent in November. Prior to that, the unemployment rate had been on a steady rise from a post-pandemic low of 4.6 per cent in July 2022.

Canada's annual inflation rate edged up to 1.9% in January, as higher energy prices offset the effect of the GST/HST "holiday" on food and certain other items, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday. Analysts had expected annual inflation rate to rise to 1.

Canada’s inflation rate climbed to 1.9 per cent in January, up from 1.8 per cent the month before, as Canadians faced increased energy costs to start the year, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday. Energy prices rose 5.