• Canada’s annual inflation rate eased more than expected in January to 5.9%, data showed on Tuesday, which should allow the Bank of Canada to keep interest rates steady at its next meeting while it lets previous rate hikes sink in.
• Analysts had expected inflation to edge down to 6.1% from 6.3% in December. Month over month, the consumer price index rose 0.5%, Statistics Canada said, again lower than analysts’ forecast of a 0.7% gain, after a 0.6% decline in December.
• Statscan cited a base effect, or comparison with last year’s strong result, that should persist through June. In January 2022, prices surged at a time of Russia-Ukraine tensions and supply chain disruptions, and they increased to a peak of 8.1% in June.