The Consumer Price Index rose by 1.6% in December compared with December 2014, after an annualized increase of 1.4% in November.
The CPI in December for goods was up 1.5% from a year earlier while the CPI for services rose 1.7%.
Gasoline prices decreased 4.8% from December 2014, after falling 10.6% in November. Overall, energy prices fell 3.6% between December 2014 and December 2015, following a 6.4% annualized rate of decrease in November. Excluding energy, the annualized Consumer Price Index rose 2.0% in December, unchanged from November.
Food prices rose 3.7% in the past 12 months to December, after the 3.4% rate of annualized increase posted in November. The cost of food purchased from stores in the 12 months to December grew by 4.1% up from a 4.7% increase in November. Prices for fresh vegetables and fresh fruit contributed to most of the gain. The price of meat increase was less year-over-year in December than November. Prices for food purchased from restaurants advanced 2.8% on a year-over-year basis, unchanged from November.
Costs associated with shelter rose 1.1% in December over December 2014 after gaining 1.2% in November.
Consumers paid 1.5% more for household operations, furnishings and equipment in December compared to December 2014, following the 1.4% year-over-year increase recorded in November.
Transportation prices rose 0.6% in the last 12 months to December 2015, following a 1.1% decrease in November. This year-over-year increase was mainly due to consumers paying more for gasoline than they did in November. The purchase of passenger vehicles was up 3.1% year-over-year in December after increasing 1.9% the previous month.
In the 12 months to December 2015, consumer prices rose in all ten provinces. The CPI grew the most in British Columbia (+1.9%), followed by Saskatchewan (+1.8%) and Ontario (+1.7%). Quebec reported a 1.3% annualized increase. The lowest annualized increase occurred in Prince Edward Island (+0.9%).