OTTAWA—Canada’s annual inflation rate slowed in December, data showed on Tuesday, helped by a sales tax break which kicked off in the middle of the month and brought down prices of alcohol, restaurant foods and children’s clothing.
The annual inflation rate dropped to 1.8 percent, Statistics Canada said, slightly lower than expected and a tick below the prior month’s 1.9 percent. On a month-on-month basis the consumer price index contracted by 0.4 percent.
On an annual basis, prices for alcoholic beverages purchased from stores declined 1.3 percent in December, compared with a 1.9 percent increase in November, and food purchased at restaurants dropped by 1.6 percent in December from a rise of 3.4 percent the previous month….